The Green Jedi
by TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Summary: Sequel to 'A Leap Of Faith'. An old story and it shows. Republishing because Titanfan45 requested it. Complete
1. Chapter 1

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Prologue

This story is the sequel to "A leap of faith'.

This chapter catches up with what has happened since the first story ended and sets up the background of the new story.

Chapter 1 – Time flies

It had been ten months since the Jedi had left and things had slowly gone back to normal at Titans Tower.

Garfield had kept his promise to Terra. He found a good lawyer who managed to get a Judge to annul her previous marriage to Slade (on the grounds that Slade was mentally imbalanced when they wed). He then got her in touch with the Wayne Foundation for her college scholarship. After interviewing her, Bruce was so impressed that he approved a full four year scholarship at Gotham University. Terra matriculated the following semester and made the Dean's list. Gar was very pleased with himself.

Terra's new collegiate life had also inspired Raven to begin her higher education. Jump City College had one of the best online programs in the country. Raven had taken over two dozen AP tests over the past couple of years and was able to start at JCC as a Junior. Her major was English and she chose History as her minor. After a little ear twisting she was able to talk Gar into matriculating as well, his chosen major being Biology with a concentration on Zoology.

Crime in Jump City had settled down. The Titans mostly had to deal with minor villains like Mumbo or Control Freak. About the only time Gar ever used his lightsaber was when he sliced up some of Control Freak's remote control created monsters. Since he couldn't carry or use his lightsaber when in most of his animal forms Raven began to carry it for him. Gar did enjoy using the Force to increase the effectiveness of his animal forms. Once in elephant form he jumped high in the air and performed a triple somersault before landing on a dumbfounded Adonis, knocking him out old. But most of the time he kept his new Jedi powers low key and only used them to surprise villains.

Blackfire had begun to relish her role as a Titan. She was definitely the most gung ho member of the team now. She was always the first at the scene and in the case of a minor crime like a bank robbery she usually had the perps in custody by the time the other s arrived.

But the year had its life changing event. Elizabeth Marie Grayson had been born just two months ago. She had dark hair and blue eyes like her father and her mother's skin tone and digestive system. Starfire was concerned, no she was frantic, that little Elizabeth had not begun to fly, for which the other Titans were most grateful. Raven had the worst luck with her, as the first time she held Lizzie the infant spit up on her almost immediately. _What is it with kids throwing up on me?_ She wondered at the time, recalling all the times that Teether barfed on her when she was protecting the children from the Brotherhood of Evil. Also, little Lizzie was a colicky baby, and while the Logans couldn't hear her at night Raven did feel her raw baby emotions on those occasions which kept her awake many nights, and if Raven couldn't sleep then neither could Garfield. And last night had been such a night.

Nightwing had called a 7AM staff meeting to discuss new training and patrol schedules for the week. Everyone had assembled except for the Logans. At five after the hour Nightwing sent Blackfire to get them. She returned a few minutes later with the couple, bleary eyed and still in their pajamas.

"Did Elizabeth keep you up again friends?" Starfire asked. Gar grunted something that vaguely sounded like a 'yes' as the couple sat down at the conference table.

"I am so sorry friends." Starfire apologized "But I have good news! Today my knorfka Galfore is arriving with several of my childhood friends to meet little Elizabeth.

_Great, a tower full of Starfires. It will be like a Hello Kitty convention_. Raven thought.

For a moment Raven looked like she was going to have aneurism, but she regained her composure, at least on the outside. Then Gar spoke up.

"Richard, Raven and I need to leave for a few days." He said.

"So where are you lovebirds going?" Blackfire teased them.

"Anywhere that has soft beds, quiet rooms and no babies." Raven replied in her monotone. "And room service."

"Oh." Starfire responded despondently "I guess that would be OK, right Richard?"

"Oh I guess so." Nightwing almost moaned_. It's not like I'm getting any sleep either._ He complained in his mind.

_Yeah, but she's your kid!_ Raven shot back through their shared telepathic link, which she hadn't opened in a long time.

"Good" Raven said out loud. "It's settled then. We leave this afternoon. Cyborg would you mind making us reservations at the Jump City Hilton? And make sure it's a quiet room please." The Logans then rose from the table and headed out of the conference room.

"Where are you guys going?" Cyborg asked as the meeting was just getting stated.

"Back to bed!" they said in one voice. They slept in until noon.

Raven and Gar had finished packing for their escapade just as the Tamaranians arrived. They lugged their bags to the common room and greeted the guests as they arrived.

Galfore was his usual booming self.

"So Koriand'r, I still cannot persuade you to give your daughter a proper Tamaranian name?" He begged Starfire.

"She was born on Earth and is half human, so we decided to give her a human name." she replied.

"Komand'r" he turned to Blackfire "Might you talk some sense into your sister?" he seemed almost desperate.

"Sorry Galfore, but you know how my little sister can be." She smirked.

"But the child is also a Princess of Tamaran." This time he turned to Nightwing "Won't she listen to you?"

"I'm afraid she has made up her mind. Even I know when to back off." He replied.

Galfore harrumphed as Starfire presented Elizabeth to her 7 childhood friends, all of whom were ecstatic over the child.

"Man, they're all talking in Tamaranian!" Cyborg complained "I don't even think any of them speak any English at all."

"I thought you learned Tamaranian once." Gar teased him.

"I did, but forgot it when you guys took my Maxx-7 chip out."

"I guess you're gonna have to pucker up then, Tin Man." Raven joked.

Cyborg looked at the pretty Tamaranian girls that huddled around Starfire and Elizabeth. "That doesn't sound so bad when you think about it." He said with a grin.

Raven formed a dark disc on the ground. Gar tossed their luggage on it, and then hopped on himself. As Raven stepped onto the circle she said "So can we expect you to have a girlfriend when we get back?" she taunted him.

"BB's right, you are mean!" he shouted at her as they flew out the window standing on the dark disk.

Later that day after all the commotion had winded down, Starfire and Richard retired to their room with their daughter while Cyborg and Blackfire showed the guests to their rooms. Fortunately for Cyborg the Tamaranians brought their own food. He figured that he and Nightwing could survive off delivery pizza for the next few days.

Back in the Grayson's suite Starfire was nursing their daughter, while Nightwing kept her company.

"Star, how are you feeling about being a mother?" he asked her.

"It is hard to describe my love." She began "I now feel more complete than ever. Every time I gaze upon her tiny face I am reminded that we have been joined forever in her. It also brings out a part of me I did not know before, that I am a life giver and a nurturer. When we first met I was a warrior. Now, I am so much more, and yet…."

"What is it Star?"

"I miss being a protector of our city. It has been almost a year since I have been on a mission, and I miss it so much. But how can I? Who will care for Elizabeth while I am away on a mission?"

"Uh, we could place her in daycare?"

"Richard, do not even joke about that." She replied crossly.

"Ok, how about a nanny?" he asked more carefully.

"You mean a knorfka? I could ask Galfore to help us find one."

"I was thinking more of a human nanny, since we live on Earth. But I suppose that we should ask him first so that he won't be offended." he replied. After knowing Starfire so many years he was beginning to understand the Tamaranian way of thinking and seeing things.

"Yes, that would be wise." She smiled. Her Richard was finally beginning to 'get it'.

It was now dinnertime in the tower. Starfire's friends had set up shop in the kitchen and were preparing a traditional Tamaranian dinner, or at least that's what Cyborg thought it was. _And I thought Star's concoctions were disgusting_. The girls were setting the table just as the pizzas Cyborg ordered earlier arrived. They all sat down to partake of their meal.

Cyborg was surprised that Blackfire did not eat any Tamaranian food and ate only pizza, especially since none of their guests appeared to like pizza. "It's an acquired taste." Starfire explained to her friends. At least that's what Blackfire translated for him. _It must have been hard for her to get used to what we eat, yet she never complained. She's always been a trooper._

After dinner Elizabeth woke up in a foul mood and wouldn't stop crying, despite the best efforts made by the Tamaranian contingent. Blackfire turned to Cyborg.

"I can't take it anymore. Let's get out of here." She said.

"What do you wanna do, little lady?" he asked.

"How about a movie?"

"There's nothing good playing now."

"Then how about we go dancing?"

"Sounds like a date." He replied enthusiastically. They told Nightwing that they were stepping out for a while and left quietly.

Later that evening Nightwing asked Galfore to join him and Starfire in his office. Galfore showed up, punctual as usual.

"Galfore, we have a problem and were wondering if you might be able to help us."

"Yes?" he replied.

"Well you see, Starfire hasn't been able to join us on a mission for a year now. At first it was because of her pregnancy, but now she needs to care for Elizabeth. I would share that duty with her, but I am the team leader."

"I see"

"Anyway, we were wondering if you might be able to provide us with a knorfka for Elizabeth, or at least a reference."

"Hmmm, I'm not sure that I can."

"Why?" they both asked.

"Forgive me Princess, for I have kept a secret from you…..the truth is that back home there is much resentment that you married not only an outsider, but a commoner as well. I do not believe I could find anyone who would accept being your daughter's knorfka."

Galfore saw a look of shock then sadness on both of their faces.

"Oh it could have been worse. I can only imagine the reaction had you fallen in love with and married the green boy."

"Galfore!" now Starfire was angry. "How can you say such things about our dear friend?"

"Now, now, you have to admit that when he was younger he was a bit pathetic. Remember how he squirmed when I yelled at him when you visited?" The two Titans couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"And his eventual choice of mate, Raven, it says a lot don't you think?"

At this point Starfire had moved beyond shock. She was livid. "How dare you say such things about my friends! Garfield is a mighty warrior, not some pathetic loser as you imply. He could easily defeat any Tamaranian warrior, including you! And Raven is my dearest friend. She is smart, loyal, brave, sweet and lovely. They are a wonderful couple!"

Too late Galfore had realized his mistake. "Perhaps it would be best if I took my leave."

"Yes, you should return to Tamaran. Do my friends feel the same as you?"

"No. I approve of Richard, but they do not."

"I think that you should all leave immediately." Nightwing said.

Galfore nodded gravely. "I will make it so. Please forgive me Princess."

Starfire turned away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

-

Three days later Raven and Gar returned from their mini-vacation, and when they arrived they were arguing heatedly.

"Gar, you can be such a jerk sometimes!" Raven accused.

"Me a jerk, you're one to talk, you picked everything we did the whole time! You shot down everything I wanted to do!"

"That's because everything you wanted to do was stupid!"

Starfire was nursing Lizzie on the circular couch and was accompanied by her sister and Cyborg.

"Oooh, trouble in paradise" Blackfire whispered "This is juicy."

Cyborg did not share her amusement. He was actually quite alarmed as he had not seen them argue like that since they began dating.

"C'mon ya'll. Knock it off, you're scaring me." He interrupted.

"Shut up Victor!" they both yelled at him before they resumed arguing.

He turned to Starfire "Star, do something!" he pleaded.

"I don't think so." She replied. "We should allow Raven and Gar to work out their issues on their own without our interference."

Raven and Gar turned to Starfire. "What?!" They both shouted.

"Aren't you going to lecture us about rekmas and dying friendships?" Gar asked.

"Or try to save us from our inevitable divorce, unless we kiss and make up immediately?" Raven added.

"No" Starfire curtly replied. "You are on your own."

The Logans stood in stunned silence for over a minute. Finally Raven broke the silence.

"I can't even remember how we started fighting." She aid.

"Neither can I. Will you forgive me for being such a jerk, Raven?"

"Only if you forgive me first." She replied. They fell into each other's arms and celebrated their first major reconciliation with a less than chaste kiss.

"Get a room!" Blackfire teased.

"Don't mind if we do." Raven said as she led her husband by the hand out of the common room.

After the doors closed Cyborg turned to Starfire. "What the hell was that?! How did you know that would work?" he asked incredulously.

"You know Victor; I am not just a pretty face." She and her sister shared a big laugh.

Suddenly the doors opened again. Nightwing walked in, followed by the Logans who had to postpone their trip to their suite.

"I have news." Nightwing announced. "We are going to have a summit meeting with the Bat Clan in Gotham to discuss further cooperation with them. I've arranged for some subs for us. We're leaving this Friday."

"This announcement couldn't wait?" Gar protested. He wrapped his arms around Raven's waist. "Shall we pick up where we left off my dear?" He asked as they walked out second time.

"Get a room!" Nightwing yelled "And the hallway is not a room!"

"Sheesh" he said to the others, "It's not like they didn't have the whole weekend to get it on!"

"Who says they did not." Starfire replied, as she headed back to their suite with a still sleeping Elizabeth in her arms. "Richard, are you coming?" It didn't take Nightwing long to put 2+2 together. He quickly dashed after her with a grin on his face.

As the doors shut yet again Cyborg complained "This sucks. Bumblebee won't even return my calls anymore."

He hesitated. "Oh well, I guess I'll install those new brakes on the T-Car. I got nothin' else to do."

"I'll join you." Blackfire said.

"Oh did I tell you that Tony Stark sent me some new blue prints for the gauntlets we were thinking about making for you?"

"He did?" she replied.

"Oh yeah, they're way cool. Easy to put on and take off, each one with its own power source. Once I build them you can also lose that stupid thermal blaster…." He continued as they headed to his workshop.

And we're off to the races again.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

It was the Friday morning of the trip to Gotham. The Titans we enjoying a quiet brunch together, except for Cyborg who was once again absent. He had been rising extra early everyday to work on Blackfire's new gauntlets.

Just as the table was being cleared Cyborg entered to common room carrying a small box and with a big grin on his face. "Guess what I got?" He asked in a sing song voice.

"You already finished my gauntlets?" Blackfire asked, floating towards Cyborg.

"They're only prototypes little lady. But they are functional." He replied.

"What gauntlets?" Nightwing asked.

"The ones I built for Blackfire since she can't conjure star bolts any more. These babies are full of tech loaned to us from Tony Stark himself. They even have repulsor rays on the palms, just like in his Iron Man suits."

"Dude! Let me see them!" Garfield pleaded.

"Nuh uh! Not until Blackfire tries them out first.

Blackfire slipped the gauntlets on. She had to remove her Tamaranian forearm armor first, as the gauntlets were long and her armor would have been in the way.

"They're much lighter than the look. They almost feel like gloves." She described to her friends.

Cyborg explained how to use the repulsor rays to Blackfire before activating the gauntlets.

"The prototypes are battery powered, so you'll have a limited number of shots. The final versions will have tiny arc reactors, which will last much longer. Let's fly over the bay to the island where Starfire dumped Silkie when he grew into a monster. No one's there, so you can blast away all you want!"

"Dude, I'm coming. I'm not missing this!" Gar howled.

Raven could tell that Starfire and Nightwing were also itching to go and watch. "Fine, I'll stay with the baby. You can all go and watch Blackfire trash Silkie's island."

They didn't wait for her to change her mind. Before Raven could say "Zinthos" Starfire plopped Lizzie into her arms and they were all gone, flying across the bay. A few minutes later booms and blasts echoed across the bay. After a few minutes the batteries ran out and they all returned, almost as quickly as they had left. Lizzie never even had a chance to barf on Raven.

Judging from the big grin on Blackfire's face Raven confirmed that the test was a success.

"That was awesome!" Nightwing exclaimed.

"Dude, it was more than awesome! I want a pair of my own!" Gar shouted.

"Me too!" Nightwing exclaimed.

"Sorry guys, but Tony's only giving me enough parts to build a pair for Blackfire."

Blackfire was standing still, mesmerized with the prototype gauntlets that she was still wearing. She then flew up to Cyborg, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Victor! How can I ever thank you? It's almost like being my old self again." Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Don't mention it little lady." He said as he blushed. "Tony should have the parts we need by the time we get back from Gotham."

Gar was making the final preparations for the shuttle's flight. He double checked the visual cloak system that would shroud the shuttle so no one would see it as it approached the Bat Cave to land.

The subs had started to arrive: Kid Flash, Jinx, Hot Spot and Pantha had arrived earlier and had joined the Titans in the common room. Bumblebee was the last to arrive. When she saw Cyborg she said "So Sparky, still miss me?"

Blackfire witnessed Bumblebees cruel taunt. _She can be a bitch sometimes._ Suddenly she had an idea.

"Why would he miss you?" She said as she flew up to Cyborg and planted a big wet one on his lips. Her intention was merely to make Bumblebee jealous, which worked like a charm, as her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"What do you think your doin' kissing my man?" she accused Blackfire.

"Your man, darling? Last I heard you weren't returning his calls."

"Oh he's mine alright Blackfire, and don't you forget it!" Once she noticed that everyone was staring at her she stormed out of the room.

"Consider that partial payment for the gloves." Blackfire whispered to him.

Cyborg was confused. He wasn't sure which he liked better: Bumblebee getting jealous or Blackfire's kiss. _Today's been a good day!_

The shuttle flight from Jump City to Gotham was quick and uneventful. Alfred had met them in the Bat Cave, shown them their rooms and informed them that Master Bruce and the rest of the Bat Clan would meet with them in the library at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 7:00.

Nightwing gave them a quick tour of Wayne Manor before leading his team to the library. As they arrived Bruce greeted them and introduced them to the rest of the Bat Clan: Barbara Gordon, the first Bat Girl, now Oracle. Cassandra Cain, the current Bat Girl. And Tim Drake, the current incarnation of Robin who they already had met. And of course Alfred Pennyworth, who was busy setting down trays of hor D'oeuvres and other goodies.

And then Raven saw her.

"What's she doing here?" she asked out loud, to no one in particular.

Starfire turned and saw her as well "Terra?"

Star, who was holding Elizabeth, sat down on a love seat while Raven was searching for Gar, who had suddenly vanished. She located him, standing next to Alfred discussing the snacks while piling two plates full of goodies.

Gar made his way back to the girls and handed the plates to them. Starfire's had a little sauce dish with mustard on it.

"Thank you Garfield, you are always so thoughtful." Starfire said.

"Can I get you ladies something to drink? Some wine perhaps?"

"Sure, why not?" Raven replied. "Surprise me."

"Surprise me too!" Starfire chimed in.

As Gar headed back to retrieve the drinks for the ladies, he was intercepted by Terra.

"BB, it's great to see you!" she said as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Terra, how's life at Gotham U?"

Raven was frowning, no, she was snarling as she watched the scene unfold before her. Terra couldn't keep her hands off Garfield, who to his credit was politely fending off her wandering hands. He turned to the bar and poured two glasses of wine and headed back towards Raven and Starfire, with Terra following closely behind him, with a huge grin on her face.

"If she touches him one more time, so help me I'll…."

Starfire took Raven's hand. "It is OK Raven, do not get angry. Terra is just 'familiar' with Gar, that's all."

"Too familiar if you ask me." Raven growled as the statuesque blond followed her husband like a lost puppy.

Terra ran up to Starfire and knelt to get a better look at Elizabeth.

"Oh Starfire, she's beautiful!" Terra gushed "May I hold her?"

Starfire nodded and handed Elizabeth over to Terra, who began cooing and making little baby sounds to Elizabeth.

"Raven, you look so pretty with your hair long!" Raven had let her hair grow long. Now with her white cape and leotard she looked the way she did when she defeated her father. She remembered that day well. _It was the first time that Gar hugged me._

"Thanks Terra."

Terra put an arm around Gar and squeezed him.

"So when are you and BB going to have a baby?" Terra asked her as she handed Elizabeth to him. Gar gently kissed Lizzie's forehead as Raven watched.

"I dunno" Raven replied almost absentmindedly. "Someday I guess. Sooner rather than later I suppose."

Elizabeth was playing with Gar's pinkie, playing tug of war with it. Gar lifted her little blouse and started blowing raspberries on her tummy. Elizabeth giggled and did something Starfire had long been waiting for: she levitated.

As Elizabeth floated to the ceiling Starfire followed her, shouting "Richard, sister! Look!"

Gar walked up behind Raven and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So how soon is 'sooner'?" he whispered into her ear.

"We have to retire first." She replied "Starfire might want to be a warrior mom, but I'll pass when the time comes. I'd rather be a soccer mom."

Raven then turned to Terra, who was still with them. "So Terra, what brings you here? Why aren't you at Gotham U."

"Bruce called me last week and ordered me to the Manor. He said that it was too dangerous now for me to be physically present at the school and arranged to have me switched to the distance program."

"You're in danger? Why?" Gar replied.

Terra raised a hand and cupped Gar's cheek. _Stop touching him!_ Raven snarled inwardly.

"Bruce will explain after dinner. Gar, let me get you some hor D'oeuvres. Alfred is such a good chef. I swear that I already gained weight this week."

"He can have some of mine." Raven replied as she stuffed a canapé into Gar's mouth.

Gar gulped the treat down. "They are good!" He said as he grabbed two more from Raven's plate.

Before he could grab another one Alfred announced "Dinner is served"

After they had dessert, Alfred's famous crème brule, and once the table had been cleared Bruce began to address the real reason they had assembled.

"Friends, the reason I have called you here is because our enemies have united. Over a week ago Oracle received reports that Slade Wilson has been spotted in Gotham and has formed an alliance with the main figures of the Gotham underworld: The Joker, Scarecrow, Two Face, Killer Croc and Mr. Freeze to name a few."

Barbara Gordon then spoke up. "At first we thought that Slade had merely come for Terra Markov, but as soon as we learned of the alliance we dug deeper and found out even more. There are intelligence reports supplied by the Doom Patrol that indicate the Brotherhood of Evil are also considering joining this alliance. It is also possible that other super villains like Brother Blood and Brainiac might join as well."

Cyborg grimaced "Oh man!" Blackfire wasn't familiar with these villains, but she could tell from her friend's reaction that it was bad news, very bad news.

Bruce continued. "We are going to have to operate as a single integrated team. We will also be teaming up with the Justice League and the Doom Patrol to face this new menace."

"For now my advice is to get your personal matters in order, as soon there won't be any time for that. I'm sorry to bring you this bad news. I expect that at first we will continue to patrol our own jurisdictions. We do expect that some of the Gotham underworld will soon make their move into Jump City, so be ready for anything."

"Victor, I suggest that you beef up the Tower's defenses ASAP. There is little doubt that they will try to strike you where you live. They will be ruthless and merciless. Garfield, do not be afraid to use your lightsaber to defend your friends."

"Terra will be joining the Bat Clan immediately. That's all for now. There is no need for your remain in Gotham at this time, you can depart in the morning. I will meet later with Nightwing to discuss strategies."

"Thanks for coming."

Nightwing and Starfire entered the kitchen, which Alfred had just finished cleaning.

"Have you come in search of a late night snack, Master Richard? There is still some crème brule left."

"No Alfred, but thanks. We actually need some advice."

"What is it Master Richard?"

"We need a knorfka." Starfire answered.

"A knorfka?" Alfred asked.

"A nanny for baby Elizabeth." Nightwing clarified. "And with this villain war about to break out I don't see how we will be able to find anyone crazy enough to take the job. Maybe you should return to Tamaran with Elizabeth, Starfire. Galfore will look after you."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so hasty."Alfred replied. "My cousin Winifred Pennyworth runs an au pair agency in London that specializes in finding nannies for difficult cases such as yours."

"Really, are you serious Alfred?"

"Of course I am Master Richard. Let me check with Master Bruce. I'll arrange to have a Wayne Enterprises corporate jet ready for us tomorrow morning to take us to London."

"Mr. Alfred, thank you so much." Starfire beamed.

"Please your Majesty, just call me Alfred."

Wow, I can't believe that I knocked out this chapter so quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Chapter 3

It was a quiet flight back to Jump City on the shuttle. The Graysons and Alfred left during the wee hours of the morning for London on one of Bruce's corporate jets, so it was just Raven and Gar in the shuttle cockpit while Blackfire and Cyborg made themselves at home in the passenger compartment in the rear. Raven was flying the shuttle under Gar's supervision. All the Titans were licensed pilots, and Raven was working on her certification for the shuttle.

Cyborg and Blackfire were discussing yesterday's events, including the cold shoulder that Raven gave Terra at Bruce's reception.

"Man, what's with Raven? She was the complete ice queen with Terra." Cyborg asked.

"Well if you ask me" Blackfire replied in her sing song voice "while Raven is still far too uptight, she was perfectly right to give Terra the evil eye."

"What?! No way. What has Terra done to her lately? Heck, you beat her up last year and she's fine with you."

"You know Vic, for a guy who is supposed to be a genius; you can be pretty dumb sometimes. Raven and I are not rivals, you know."

"Oh, and Terra is?"

"Absolutely. C'mon Vic, she couldn't keep her hands off Gar. She wants him, Vic, she wants him bad, and Raven knows it."

"You're full of crap, you know?" he replied angrily "And even if that was true, there's no way BB would ever betray Raven. He worships the ground she walks on."

"We both know that Gar will be always be faithful to her, but that doesn't mean that Terra isn't a rival. And speaking of crap, what's going on between you and Bumblebee? She seemed pretty eager to stake her claim on you before we left for Gotham."

"Nothing's going on. I'm done with her." He replied bitterly.

"Really? She countered in a mildly intrigued voice.

There was another discussion going on in the shuttle's cockpit.

"Raven, what happened between you and Terra yesterday? Are you willing to talk about it now?" Gar inquired.

Raven sighed. "OK, fine, I'm jealous. There, are you satisfied now?"

"Jealous? About what?"

Raven snapped at him. "Oh come on Gar, are you really that clueless?"

"I guess I am, so why don't you explain to me what I missed?"

"She had her hands all over you Gar!"

"OK, so Terra can get carried away with hugging and stuff."

"Especially when it involves you!" she retorted.

"Oh Rave, come on now. What are you thinking? That I'm going to have an affair with her?"

Raven became very quiet and when she spoke again it was very softly "I feel very insecure around her."

"Why?" He asked with a hint of disbelief.

Raven gave him a look that said 'you really are stupid'.

"Fine, let's see. She's 6 feet tall and I'm five foot nothing. She's blond and I have violet hair. She has a gorgeous tan and I'm gray. She's a knock out and I'm a plain Jane. She follows and worships you like a lost puppy." Gar put his arms around her.

"What would I do with someone as tall as Terra? I'm also five foot nothing. I love your violet hair, blondes are a dime a dozen. You're gray, I'm green. You are a beauty, not a 'plain Jane'. If anyone is pathetic looking it's me. I mean come on. I'm green, I have pointy ears and I have fangs!"

Raven murmured "I'm sorry" then began to tear up.

"Rae, what's the matter?" then he remembered. She had pointed out those three distinguishing features back in Tokyo. "Rave, Rave, I wasn't trying to remind you of Tokyo, I'm sorry! Don't cry."

She looked up at him. "You know why I slapped you there on the stage with everyone watching?"

"It was all the fan girls, wasn't it?" he replied.

She nodded. "You married a petty, jealous girl, Garfield Mark Logan, and I'm so sorry!" she started crying again.

"You're not petty Rae, maybe a little jealous, but maybe I like that. I always liked that you would stake your claim on me in public. Much better than some sappy teeny bopper in love. To be honest I find it irritating when Terra follows me like a lost puppy. She acts more like a fan girl than a friend."

Raven let out a little laugh, turned on the autopilot, got up and wrapped her arms around Gar, who was still seated, and kissed the crown of his head while she played with his now shoulder length hair.

"Ever heard of Thomas Aquinas?" he asked.

"Yes" she looked at him in surprise.

"He once said that a married couple should be 'perfect friends'. Raven, you are my perfect friend."

She hugged him even tighter. "Thanks, just forgive me for being this way, I'm sorry" she said.

"It's OK; just promise me you won't freak out over Terra anymore."

"I will, if you also promise me to not freak out."

"You got a deal! Wait a minute. What am I not supposed to freak out about?" He asked.

"I just found a small, thinning bald spot on your scalp." She then kissed it tenderly.

It is said that in space no one can hear you scream. Which was true, but there was definitely a major disturbance in the Force emanating from a certain Garfield Mark Logan.

It was much more serene aboard the business jet, which was just halfway to its destination. Elizabeth was sleeping peacefully in her car seat which was firmly tethered to one of the ample seats in the jet's cabin. Alfred was serving Dick and Star a lunch worthy of a 5 star restaurant.

"More wine your highness?" Alfred asked Starfire, who was clearly enjoying being pampered. 5 glasses of wine didn't hurt either.

"I think she's OK Alfred. If anything she's ready for a nap".

"You are quite right Master Richard." He said after draping a fleece blanket over her drowsy form.

Nightwing kicked back in his seat, enjoying some of Bruce's best wine and food, while his two ladies napped peacefully. _It doesn't get any better than this._

Things were calm back at the tower. Hot Spot and Jinx had just left on their 3 hour patrol. Cyborg and Blackfire were in his workshop as Tony Stark had shipped the parts he promised. Cyborg was anxious to have the final gauntlets ready before their patrol shift, which was the next one. Raven and Gar adjourned to their room to meditate and maybe nap afterwards. Their shift followed Cyborg's and Blackfire's shift.

Cyborg completed the production model gauntlets in less than 90 minutes, after which he and Blackfire headed back to "Silkie's Island" which Blackfire began to demolish. After an hour Cyborg was convinced that they worked flawlessly and they returned to the tower, ready to begin their patrol once Jinx and Hot Spot returned.

Up in the Logan's suite Gar was rummaging frantically through the drawers in the room.

"Looking for this?" Raven asked as she handed him a plain hand mirror.

He took it, ran into the bathroom and began hunting for his new bald spot. Raven sat down, preparing herself for what she knew was about to come.

"Dude! It's huge! Aw man, this blows, it's so unfair!" He was on the verge of sobbing when he came out of the bathroom.

"Gar, I want to cheer you up, but I'm afraid that anything I do or say will make you feel even worse."

"How about a hug?"

"I've plenty of those…" and she hugged him.

After a few minutes of hugging he said "How about a kiss?"

"Sure, I have lots of those too." and they kissed.

A few minutes later they stopped kissing. "How about…"

"Gar! It's the middle of the day! We have patrol in a few hours."

"So?" he replied with a big grin on his face.

"You little sneak!" She kissed him again. _At least he stopped fretting about his stupid hair_.

The Wayne jet had landed at City Airport and there was a gleaming Mercedes limo waiting to pick up Alfred and the Graysons. Alfred had made reservations at the Wyndham, which Richard and Starfire found very much to their liking. The lobby was sumptuous and elegant. The two were in costume and stood out like a pair of sore thumbs.

As Alfred approached the front desk there were murmurs in the crowd. 'Wasn't he the first Robin?', 'She's an alien isn't she?', 'He's smaller than I thought he would be', 'Isn't she a bit of alright?', etc.

"May I help you sir?" the Clerk asked.

"Yes, I have a reservation for Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran" he replied.

Immediately everyone within earshot in the lobby turned around to look. 'She's a Princess?', 'Why who would have guessed?', 'She doesn't look Royal', 'So she married a commoner? And a yank?'

By this point all the attention was getting old. They just wanted to get to their room and settle down for the evening. Once Alfred returned with an army of bellhops they were relieved to say the least, and were more than happy to vanish into the lift.

What they weren't prepared for was their suite. It was at least 3 times as large as their apartment and luxurious beyond belief.

"Alfred" Nightwing asked once he scraped his jaw off the ground. "How much is this going to cost? We Titans run on a tight budget!"

"Not to worry, young sir. Master Bruce is picking up the tab. Speaking of which..." he said as he pulled an envelope out of his coat "…I was able to procure two prime tickets for the matinee performance of the Phantom of the Opera today".

Starfire's eyes popped wide open. The Phantom was her favorite musical. She had seen it more than once back home and had the movie, first on DVD, then on HD.

"Oh Alfred, thank you so much! How did you know? Oh, I've heard that it's so much better here."

"Oh let's just say that a little birdie told me. A little green birdie. And after the show I have reservations for the two of you at Gordon Ramsey's for dinner."

"Alfred!" Nightwing exclaimed "how did you get those on such short notice?"

"Master Bruce does have some clout on this side of the pond, I must say. The Prime Minister was very helpful. Anyway, you had best hurry up and freshen up. The show begins in less than an hour. The limousine that brought us here will be your transportation tonight. And do not worry about young Elizabeth. We shall have a grand time together."

Nightwing smiled a big grin. "Alfred, when will you stop spoiling us?"

"I do not know sir. I suppose when I retire. Have a pleasant evening." He said as he carried Elizabeth to the room that would serve as the nursery during their stay.

Cyborg and Blackfire were into their second hour of patrolling Jump City. She was secretly disappointed that nothing had happened during their watch. She had been hoping that a brigade of Sladebots would attack, giving her an excuse to blast something with her new gauntlets.

She almost got her wish.

Her communicator beeped and when she answered it she saw Jinx on the display. "There's a disturbance downtown on Broadway near Market St. There are reports of dozens of robots wrecking havoc. Kid Flash is at the scene and just reported in. They're not Slade Bots. He says the kind of look like Cyborg"

"Brother Blood!" Cyborg bellowed. "Tell Wally to be careful, and we need full backup. I know they're on break, but make sure Raven and Gar come too. And make sure he brings his lightsaber."

"We'll be there as soon as possible. Jinx out".

As Cyborg and Blackfire approached the scene they saw what looked like hundreds of robots. They opened fire on them.

Raven lied awake in bed, while Gar snored peacefully with a goofy smile on his face. She was caressing and kissing the scar on his chest, a painful souvenir of Ventress's near fatal lightsaber strike from nearly a year ago. She occasionally still had nightmares about that moment.

That was when every alarm went off in the tower. She heard Jinx's voice over the PA. "Brother Blood has been spotted downtown with an army of CyBots. We need everyone at Broadway and Market. Sorry Gar and Raven, but that includes you too. Bring your lightsaber!"

Raven grabbed her communicator. "Raven here, acknowledged. We'll be there ASAP."

She turned to rouse Gar but he was already dressed and slipping on his boots. Raven hastily dressed while he grabbed both of his lightsabers, handing Windu's lightsaber to her as soon as she was ready.

"I look like a mess." She complained.

"After this battle is over I think we all will."

Raven conjured a black disk that they both hopped on, and flew out a window that Gar opened using the Force.

Nightwing and Starfire were on their way back from the Ramsey's after one of the best evenings they had shared in a long time. Nightwing reached for his communicator to call Alfred to tell him they would be home soon.

"Alfred, this is Nightwing, come in Alfred" but Alfred did not answer.

"Star, something's wrong. Alfred isn't answering." He addressed the driver. "Driver! Stop the car!"

The driver ignored them and began to speed up. The partition between them was closing, with a solid sheet of steel coming up. The same happened to all the windows in the passenger compartment. Gas started coming out from the A/C vents.

Starfire didn't need Nightwing to tell her what to do. With a perfect side kick she broke the armored door off its hinges, sending it flying into the street. She grabbed Nightwing's hand and not a moment too soon as he was turning blue from holding his breath. She flew out of the limo holding her husband under her left arm. She drew back her right hand, ready to throw a star bolt, but the limo had already vanished behind a bus.

She turned and flew to the hotel, holding a coughing Nightwing with both arms as they zipped through London.

Raven and Gar were the last to arrive. The Titan subs were struggling with the CyBots and were very glad to see the Logans arrive. Gar had already ignited his lightsaber.

"Where are Cy and Blackfire?" Raven asked.

"They saw Brother Blood and chased him down that alley." Pantha replied while punching a CyBot with her bare hands.

Raven and Gar joined their friends and began to demolish CyBots. Raven hoped that their friends would be OK facing Brother Blood alone.

"I'm warning you Blood, you're not getting away this time!" Cyborg screamed at his nemesis.

"Cyborg, Cyborg, who said anything about getting away. I came here for you. You were once my star pupil, if you recall, and you can be once again." Brother Blood said with a wicked grin. "And who is this pretty thing you brought with you? I was expecting to see Bumblebee." He continued to taunt.

Cyborg lunged at him, but Blood easily dodged and grabbed him, throwing Cyborg into a brick wall. Blackfire swooped at him also missing, and then shot at him with her repulsor rays, again missing.

"Slade is right, you have all become sloppy." He then extended his hand towards Blackfire. Red tendrils of energy shot from his fingertips, engulfing Blackfire who screamed in pain. Cyborg charged at Blood and threw a haymaker at him. Blood caught Cyborg's fist in his hand while he released Blackfire from the red energy and she crumpled onto the floor unconscious.

"What do you want?" Cyborg snarled at Blood.

"Nothing, I just came to bring you a present." Blood replied as he released Cyborg's fist.

Cyborg fell to the ground, bracing his fall with both hands. He felt a sensation in his right hand, a sensation that he had not felt since he infiltrated Blood's school. He stared at his hand and realized that his hand and forearm were real flesh and blood again.

"Don't tease me Blood!" he yelled.

"Oh, this is no tease Cyborg. This gift is permanent, unlike last time. This time I want you to appreciate the gift, and realize that there is more were it came from."

Cyborg stared at him incredulously.

"I can make you a complete man Victor. A whole, complete man once again." He turned to Blackfire, who was beginning to stir. "Think about it Victor. She could really be your girlfriend, if you catch my drift."

"Leave him alone!" another male voice called out. Brother Blood calmly turned around. Why if it isn't my old friend Beast Boy and his sweetheart Raven. I heard that you're into sword duels my little green friend.

Garfield ignited his lightsaber and went into fighting stance, his left hand extended towards blood, pointing with his index and middle fingers and his right arm extended over his head, with this lightsaber pointing straight at Blood.

"You're going down Blood!" Gar hissed.

Blood laughed and shot his red lightning at Gar, who to Blood's surprise blocked it with his lightsaber. Gar extended his left hand and threw a powerful Force push, slamming Blood into the brick wall behind him, ending his lightning attack. Raven then trapped Blood with ropes of her dark energy, he struggled and managed to break free, just as Blackfire recovered and hit him with her repulsor rays, slamming Blood into the brick wall again, this time punching through it. Raven was the first to reach the hole, but it was too late, Brother Blood had escaped.

Gar ran to Cyborg, who was clutching his right forearm with his left hand. "Cy, are you OK? What did he do to you?"

Starfire and Nightwing flew into their hotel suite through an open window. Their hearts froze with what they saw. There had clearly been a struggle in the room.

"Alfred! Where are you?" Nightwing called as Starfire frantically search the suite.

They were gone.

"Nightwing then noticed that the TV was on, with the words "Press Play For Message" on the screen. He picked up the remote and pressed play.

The Brain and Mallah appeared on the screen. The Brain spoke in his vocoder voice.

"Nightwing, Starfire, if you are watching this then I must congratulate you, as you have escaped from my little trap. But it does not matter, for as you can see I have captured your daughter and your butler. Return home, as I will soon send you a message with my demands."

Mallah laughed a hearty Gorilla laugh and the video ended. Nightwing smashed the table in front of him while Starfire screamed a hysterical "NOOOOOOO!"

Just wait until Bruce hears what happened to Alfred! The Bat Clan won't take this news sitting down.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Chapter 4 – Cy's Temptation

The Titans returned to the Tower after the battle. They succeeded in destroying all of Brother Blood's CyBots, but it was a hollow victory. Kid Flash and Bumblebee were seriously injured and were in the infirmary, along with Cyborg who was treating them at the same time he was examining his newly reformed arm. The rest of the Titans were mildly injured. Raven first tended to Wally's and Bumblebee's injuries before tending to the others. She and Gar came last, mostly because they had the fewest cuts and scratches.

After freshening up Raven and Gar went to the common room, where they met up with the rest of the Titans, at least the uninjured ones. Kid Flash and Bumble were still resting in the infirmary. Everyone else was crowded around Cyborg, checking out his new flesh and blood, when an incoming call from Nightwing came through on the big screen.

They all noticed his distraught face. "Dick, what's wrong? What happened" Cyborg asked.

In a nearly breathless voice he replied "Its Elizabeth and Alfred…they've been kidnapped by the Brotherhood of Evil." Starfire could be heard sobbing in the background.

The common room became deathly quiet. Then Vic broke the silence.

"Aren't you glad I put a tracking device in her?" he shouted as his fingers, both metal and flesh danced across the keyboard. A grin appeared on his face.

"I found her. You're not going to believe this, but she's over the Atlantic now, and judging by the speed I'm tracking she's in a jet that left London about an hour ago. Let me see if I can track that jet better…" his fingers continued to dance. "well how about that, it's a regular commercial flight to Bogota, Colombia. Avianca Airlines"

Gar whipped out his Republic communicator. "R6, prepare the two seat fighter for immediate launch." The Astromech trilled back in response. "Raven, you're coming with me."

"BB, what are you going to do?" Cy asked.

"We'll catch up with the airliner, have Rae teleport us aboard. We'll locate and rescue Lizzie".

"Good thinking Gar" Nightwing replied over his communicator. "I seriously doubt that Alfred is onboard that plane."

"I will join you friends!" Starfire said, her eyes glowing green.

"Good idea Star, we'll need someone to watch over the plane while we are inside. It's possible that the Brotherhood of Evil might try to shoot it down while we attempt the rescue. We have to be extra careful. There are hundreds of innocent people aboard that plane." Raven replied.

"Why not wait for the plane to land?" Jinx asked.

"Too risky." Nightwing replied. "They could disappear in the airport. We now have them captive on the plane, let's use that to our advantage. Plus I'm willing to bet that she's being carried by a mule. They were pretty clever, trying to get her out of the country by hiding her in a crowd. We would have detected a brotherhood jet easily."

"We also know that their base is in South America." Blackfire added.

Just then R6 whistled to Gar, who announced "The Jedi Fighter is ready! Let's go. Star, I'll send you rendezvous coordinates as soon as I have them. For now head to the Canary Islands."

"The Bat Clan is on its way to London." Nightwing shared. "Batman has already made contact with Scotland Yard. I'm supposed to meet an Inspector Morse in about 30 minutes. Gar, Raven, good luck. Bring her back."

"We will Richard, I promise." Raven replied "Let us know once Alfred is recovered."

"He will." Starfire replied "And thank you friends. We love you."

"We love you too." Raven said as she signed off.

Nightwing and Starfire embraced before she left 30 minutes earlier. The Bat Clan was scheduled to arrive in 3 hours, which meant that Nightwing now had to wait for Inspector Morse. The local CID had already been over the suite with a fine toothed comb and found no useful clues. Inspector Morse was England's liason with the Justice League, so he would be there for protocol reasons, or at least that's what Nightwing hoped.

A few minutes later a uniformed officer led two men to Nightwing. One was older and shorter, with gray hair and walked with a barely noticeable limp. The other was younger and taller.

The uniformed officer made the introductions. "Mr. Nightwing, this is Inspector Morse." Nightwing shook Morse's hand.

"Do you have a first name Inspector?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes I do. Do you?" Morse replied.

"Yes, but I don't use it."

"Neither do I. Just call me Morse. Oh and this is Sgt. Lewis."

"Right. Ok Morse, Batman should be arriving in 3 hours."

"Will he be coming alone?" Morse asked.

"No. Robin and Batgirl will be with him."

"You used to be Robin, correct?"

"Yes, until two years ago, as a matter of fact"

"I see" said Morse "Anyway, I'm sure that you are wondering about how we will work together."

"Yes."

"The Prime Minister has instructed us to work with you. Keep in mind that you must always operate within the limits of our laws. You may investigate freely, but roughing up suspects is not permitted, unless they become violent first. I am glad that you do not use firearms, but I am concerned about some of you less conventional weapons. All I ask is that you use common sense."

"Sounds reasonable to me."

"Very well, contact me once Batman arrives." Morse began to walk away, but stopped. "This valet who was kidnapped, he must be very special for Batman himself to come looking for him."

Nightwing looked somewhat alarmed at Morse's words.

"Do not worry Mr. Grayson. The Prime Minister has instructed us on the importance of keeping your identities secret. Your and Mr. Wayne's secret is safe with the Sgt. and me."

Gar pointed and shouted at Raven "There it is!"

"Where's Starfire? I can't see her."

"She's over there, about a mile behind the plane" he opened his communicator "Star, can you see us?"

"Affirmative" she replied over the roaring sound of the air whooshing past her at over 500 knots. "I will stay back and watch out for bogeys".

"We'll let you know once we have Elizabeth, Gar out."

Gar maneuvered the Jedi fighter until it was below the Boeing 777, low enough to stay out of its wake.

"R6, keep the fighter here until we return."He turned to Raven "Let's do it!"

Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and blackness engulfed them. They reappeared in the galley and their timing was perfect, no one was there as the attendants were serving lunch. Raven was already dressed as an Avianca flight attendant.

"OK, I'm going to find her." Gar said as he morphed into a fly and took off. Raven hid in a restroom, waiting for him to return.

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door, she cracked it open and once she saw it was Gar she let him in.

"She's in row 12 seat B. Definitely a mule, the woman only speaks Spanish. No sign of Alfred. I think she has some goons watching her."

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

He proceeded to explain.

Raven walked down the aisle, in her flight attendant costume, carrying a can of orange juice. Gar had morphed into a mouse and was hidden in her apron pocket.

As she approached seat 12B, which was an aisle seat she scanned for the goons. They were there but appeared to be napping.

She offered the woman a refill "¿Quiere mas jugo de naranja?" The baby was definitely Elizabeth.

The woman responded "Si, por favor".

Raven picked up her glass and refilled it, as Gar watched from the apron pocket. Raven handed the glass to the woman, who responded "Gracias".

That was Gar's cue. He placed a Force choke on the woman, who panicked and released Elizabeth. Raven snatched the baby and uttered her mantra "Azarath Metrion Zinthos". Once the darkness subsided they found themselves back on the Jedi fighter before the goons were able to get out of their seats.

Gar crawled back to his seat and morphed back into his human form. "That was brilliant Rae, you deserve an Oscar. Your Spanish was perfect."

"Gracias, mi amor" she replied with a grin.

Gar opened his communicator. "Star! We got her, let's go home!"

"Glorious!" she replied "I knew you would be victorious!"

Gar turned the Jedi Fighter back towards Jump City and turned on the after burners, followed by Starfire.

"One down, one to go" he cheered.

Once the news of the successful rescue reached the tower the cheering began. Cyborg and Blackfire began preparing the celebration with what they had on hand, and joined the others at the roof top hangar as the rescue party returned.

As soon as the fighter landed Gar popped both canopies open, allowing Starfire to take Elizabeth from Raven.

As Cyborg gave her a celebratory hug, Starfire noticed his arm.

"Victor, what happened to your arm?" she asked.

Cyborg then explained to her what happened with Brother Blood.

"This is most serious Victor. He is trying to tempt you." She paused before continuing.

"You have feelings for my sister, right?"

He nodded. "You know, I figured that we would be just good friends. I mean, how could I be any more than that in my current state. I had given up on ever getting married and having kids. Then this happens. It's so tempting Star, you have no idea."

"But at what price Victor? He would demand a terrible price."

"I know Star, I know. But he's smart Star, so smart. He gave this back to me, permanently. I was able to caress Blackfire's face for the first time and actually feel it. And it felt good, I mean real good." Tears began to well up in his real eye.

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "We will get through this together, my friend, I promise you."

"I know Star, I know." He replied.

Raven and Blackfire witnessed Starfire's and Vic's exchange, overhearing everything.

"It isn't fair Raven, it just isn't fair." Blackfire said bitterly. "Vic deserves better."

"And so do you." Raven calmly replied.

"You understand?" Blackfire asked.

"Of course I do. I am a married woman after all. I understand the need to share physical intimacy with a soul mate."

Blackfire focused intently on Raven as she continued to speak.

"When I was younger I had a hard time controlling my powers. It's one of the reasons why I kept pushing Gar away from me. At the time I thought that I would never experience love or physical intimacy and it was a terrible burden. It killed me to see Gar fall in love with Terra which is why I still hate her, and then Malchior tricked me. I hit rock bottom. But Gar was there. He was always there."

"Raven, I never knew that." Blackfire responded softly.

"When Terra dumped him the second time I was beginning to detach my powers from my emotions, so I took a chance. That's why we started out slowly, I was still afraid of losing control and hurting Gar. But it didn't happen. I still can't believe how lucky I am. I suppose it's also why I am so afraid of losing him. I haven't told anyone other than Gar this, but I want us to retire soon from the hero business. I just want to have a normal life." Tears poured from her eyes. Blackfire embraced her.

"I understand Raven, I really do."

Raven regained her composure and continued. "But whatever you two do, don't go back to Brother Blood. The price he'll demand will be too great. You'd be selling your souls to him, I'm not exaggerating."

"Then what are we supposed to do Raven? Victor was right about caressing me with his real hand. It sent shivers down my spine. A lot of men have courted me Raven, and I've never felt this way. What are we going to do?"

"Be patient." Raven replied. "I am working on a spell that could help Vic. But it might not be ready for some time. Please wait. It will be worth it, I promise. And watch out for Brother Blood. He will up the ante once he realizes that Vic isn't coming back, I am certain of that. Just promise me one thing."

"Of course, anything."

Raven smiled. "I get to be your Matron of Honor when you marry Vic."

"Deal" Blackfire smiled back. "Starfire will be disappointed."

"So will Bumblebee." She smirked.

Batman, Robin and Batgirl arrived at City Airport on the Wayne I, which was Bruce's personal 747. They had loaded it with just about every vehicle and contraption that was in the Batcave. The Prime Minister had issued a customs and immigration waivers for the jet's cargo and passengers. Nightwing was waiting for them, as were Inspector Morse and Sgt. Lewis.

The trio deplaned together and were greeted by Nightwing, who introduced them to Morse and Lewis.

"I have news" the Dark Knight shared. "Wayne Enterprises received a ransom request for Alfred. A Colombian drug cartel is demanding 10,000,000 Euros for his safe return. Apparently they were hired by the Brotherhood of Evil to perform the kidnapping. Elizabeth is on her way to Colombia as we speak."

"I have better news." Nightwing beamed. "Just five minutes ago Raven contacted me. She and Gar got onto the plane and rescued Elizabeth. They're on their way back to Jump City."

"That is good news indeed. But we need to move fast now if we are to save Alfred. Once they find out that Elizabeth is gone they might harm him." He turned to Morse.

"Inspector, as much as I hate to do this, I will pay the ransom, and we need to do it fast. The plane arrives in Bogota in 5 hours."

"I will make the arrangements; do you have the contact info?" Morse asked.

"On this data pad. It has an account # with Barclay's Bank for the ransom cash."

Morse took the data pad "We'll have MI6 help with this." and promptly left with Lewis.

"This is new for you." Nightwing said.

"Time is of the essence, plus we need to get back to Gotham. Dick, I want you to come back with us."

"You want me to rejoin the Bat Clan?" the surprise was clear on his face. "What about Starfire and Lizzie?"

"They can come of course. Starfire can join the clan if she wishes."

"What about the Titans? I'm their leader."

"Let Garfield take over. He's got what it takes."

"That's not the point Bruce. The Titans are family."

"So is the Bat Clan, and we were your family before the Titans. And it's not like you will be forsaking them, I've always thought of the Titans as an extension of the Bat Clan."

"Why do you want me to come?"

"I need you Dick; Gotham is going to be the focus of the attack by the axis of evil. I also need you to work with Terra. Her powers are incredible but she needs to learn the ways of the clan."

"Alright Bruce, but it's only temporary. And I'm going home first."

Gar was lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling; it was 5:00 AM. Raven was asleep, snuggled up next to him, her thin gray arm draped over his green chest. Dick had contacted him privately just after the rescue celebration had ended with the news of rejoining the Bat Clan and that Gar would be taking over as the Titan's leader. Dick asked him not to share this news, as he would announce it publicly when he got back later next morning.

In her sleep Raven sensed his agitation and woke up.

"Gar" she asked sleepily "what's wrong?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you…but I will anyway."

She sat up; now fully awake "What is it?"

"Dick's been recalled to the Bat Clan and he's asked me to take over here."

"What? Why? Who does Bruce think he is anyway? He doesn't own us." she said crossly.

"Dick said that he would explain all in the morning. I expect that Star and Lizzie will be going to Gotham as well."

"Well, at least I know now why you're so upset." She got up and put on her Japanese robe. "We might as well get up. I know I can't get back to sleep after hearing that."

"No kidding" he replied.

"I have some news to share as well. It turns out that Vic and Blackfire are in love. As in 'let's get married' love."

"Pfftt! I already knew that."

"Did you know that they're tempted to return to Brother Blood so Vic can get his whole body back."

"You mean everything?" Gar asked.

"The whole enchilada." She replied.

"I can't blame him for feeling that way. I wouldn't be too happy if all I could do was hug and kiss you."

"Me too." She agreed.

He sighed. "So what are we going to do?"

"I promised Blackfire that I would find a way to restore Vic's human body."

"You can do that?"

"I'm not sure, I mean given enough time I think I could. I'm just worried that they will get impatient and fall to Blood's temptation."

"I'll talk with Vic later. Man, life can be a bitch."

"Especially when you're the new leader of the Titans." She kissed him softly. "Don't worry; you know I'm right behind you, don't you?

"Why do you think I haven't freaked out yet?" he said as he kissed her back.

Victor woke up too early. It was still dark outside. _Man, I'm cold. Hey, that's not possible. What's going on?_

Victor jumped off his sleep platform and felt very strange. For one thing it was harder to see in the dark. _My night vision must be on the blink._ It wasn't until he looked down that it all made sense.

_Hey, I'm naked. I'M NAKED!? What's going on here?_

He heard a voice in his head. It was Brother Blood.

_Victor, Victor, you are being indecisive. So I'm going to help you. I've decided to give you a better preview of what's to come, so here's the deal: You can have your full human body back for a week. After that I'll restore you to your bionic form. Then we can discuss your future. Oh, and say hi to Blackfire for me. If you come back we definitely can make room for her too. _

Victor screamed at the top of his lungs.

I was inspired today, so I cranked out another chapter. I hope you aren't bored. I'm not as happy with this story as I was with "A leap of faith", but I promise to finish it.

Poor Vic, what will he do?

I also added Spanish to Raven's repertoire of languages.

Also, I patterned (no, I ripped off) Inspector Morse and Sgt. Lewis from Collin Dexter's Inspector Morse novels. The late John Thaw did a memorable performance as Morse on a series of 33 BBC specials. There is now a spin off show about Sgt. Lewis who is now an Inspector himself, set years after Morse's passing away which they are showing in PBS these days.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Chapter 5 – A Team Divided

Raven and Gar heard Vic's scream. Gar, clad only in his boxers, grabbed his lightsaber. Raven grabbed him before he could run out the door and teleported them both to the hallway outside Vic's room. Blackfire was already there as well.

With a Force push Gar knocked Vic's door down and the three charged into his room. They didn't expect to find what they did.

A muscular young black male stood before them in total shock. They too were in shock, because the stranger standing before them was stark naked.

"Cy!" Gar shouted, where are you?"

"Victor?" Blackfire asked "Is that you?"

Victor snapped out of his trance. After a moment he recognized his friends, and then he realized his own situation.

"Shit!" He yelled and hid behind his bed.

"Victor?!" Gar and Rae both called out as well.

"Yeah, it's me." He called back.

"Dude! What happened to you? Why are you naked?" Gar asked.

"It was Blood man; he gave me my body back for a week."

"I knew it!" Raven snarled "I knew that he wouldn't give up. Vic, why did you accept?"

"I didn't Raven, I swear. I was asleep and woke up like this. Then I heard Blood's voice. He said it would last for a week, and then we would talk."

By this time all the other Titans had arrived and Vic was beginning to feel very self conscious.

"BB, can you get me something to wear? I'm freezing and it's not cool being naked in front of everybody."

"I don't think that we have anything large enough for you." He paused to think. "Wait, I do have something."'

Gar shot out of the room using Force enhanced speed. He was gone for a few minutes before returning with a cardboard box.

"It's one of Jarvik's Jedi outfits, the one he wore when Slade attacked the mall. It was damaged and never was repaired. It'll do for now."

He handed the box to Vic and turned around. "Ok everyone, shows over, now get out!"

Vic emerged from his room a few minutes later. Gar thought he looked like a young Mace Windu. Ahsoka had shown him a few pictures of Jedi, including Obi Wan, Anakin and Master Windu.

Blackfire ran to Victor. She cradled his face in her hands, and kissed him deeply and passionately, her hands were exploring every corner of his now fleshy body. Raven pulled her away from Victor.

"I'm sorry guys, but this is exactly what Brother Blood wants you to do." Raven apologized.

"Raven's right. You two shouldn't see each other until Blood's spell is broken." Gar added.

Starfire hugged her sister. "You must be strong sister. Someday you and Victor will be as one, but it cannot be this way."

Victor turned around and hid in his room. Gar followed him in. "Raven?" he turned around.

She noticed that Gar was still only wearing his boxers. "Yes, I'll bring you some clothes."

Nightwing arrived mid morning. Raven met him at the airport and flew him back to the Tower on one of her disks. She briefed him regarding what had happened to Cyborg. She also told him that she knew he was leaving for Gotham.

"Why didn't you tell Bruce to go to hell?" She asked him.

"It's not that easy." He tried to explain. "I'm a Titan, but I'm also a member of the Bat Clan. He has his reasons. He needs me."

"And we don't?" she snorted "Gar was so agitated last night that his emotions woke me up. If he's been this affected, imagine how the others are going to be when you drop this bomb on them."

"It's only temporary Raven. We'll be back."

"The team's scared as it is Richard, Wally and Bumblebee are still recovering from our encounter with Brother Blood. Cy's powerless and Blackfire is pining so badly for him that she's useless. That leaves me, Gar and three subs to face Brother Blood the next time he strikes."

"I know Raven, but Oracle has intelligence reports about the Brotherhood of Evil. They're getting ready to strike at Gotham."

"Any news on Slade?" she asked.

"Just that he's working with Brother Blood." He sighed.

They arrived at the Tower, landing on the roof. Starfire and Lizzie were waiting for him. He leaped off the disk and ran to them, smothering them in hugs and kisses.

He then turned to Raven, hugged her and kissed her on her cheek. "Thanks for saving her." his voice trembled.

Raven returned the kiss and hugged him tightly. "Go spend some time with them. The announcement can wait."

Gar knocked on Vic's door and entered. "I got the stuff you asked me for." Gar handed Vic a large shopping bag full of new clothes. "I hope they fit right."

"Thanks man. I'm sick of this stupid Jedi suit" he looked up at Gar "Sorry man, I didn't mean it that way."

"No sweat dude. I hate them too. Ever notice I never wear mine?"

"It actually looks good on you." Vic said diplomatically.

"Yeah, whatever." He laughed. "So how are you feeling now?"

"Weird. I've been Cyborg for so long that being Vic Stone seems strange. And knowing that in a few days I'll wake up and I'll be Cyborg again makes it seem less real."

Gar stared at him, with a spaced out look on his face.

"I have to take him out Vic, because if I don't he's going to destroy us."

"What? By yourself? I told you eating all that tofu would rot your brain. You think Raven is going to let you take on Blood alone? No way man."

"I'm the only one who can take him Vic."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to help you. And what's Nightwing going to say?"

"Speaking of which, he has an announcement he's giving in a few minutes. Come on Vic, let's go".

As Raven had predicted the announcement went over like a lead balloon. Nightwing informed them that he, Starfire and Elizabeth would be leaving for Gotham that evening and repeated the reasons he gave Raven earlier.

Gar watched the scene, standing next to Nightwing. He could see the shock and concern in the team, now his team. He had to do something to make them snap out of it, but didn't know what to do. Once Nightwing had finished he stepped forward. He glanced at Raven who gave him a small smile. It was time to suck it up.

"OK Team, nothing's changed. We're still the Titans and were going to protect our city."

He paused, and looked at Raven again. She nodded, knowing what he was going to say next.

"I have an announcement of my own. Effective today our 3 honorary Titans are no longer guests; they are now permanent members of the Team. Kid Flash, Hot Spot, Jinx, welcome to the team."

There was a small round of applause.

"I also wish to thank Bumblebee and Pantha for taking time away from Titans East and South to help us. I am now placing all branches of the Titans worldwide on the highest level of alert and am sending you back to your teams."

"Thanks Gar." Bumblebee replied "It's always an honor to serve here." Pantha nodded in acknowledgement as well.

"And finally, I'm placing Victor on medical leave until we sort out his condition. No missions, you understand Vic?"

There were a few murmurs in crowd, but no one spoke up.

"That's all. Everyone report for training tomorrow at 9:00 AM. You are dismissed."

As everyone filed out of the room Raven came to him and took his hand.

"You did fine." She told him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks. For a moment there I thought I was going to barf."

He turned and looked at her in the eyes.

"We have to take Blood down, and soon. The code be damned."

Raven nodded "I know. Do you have a plan?"

"He's well hidden. He's probably in one of Slade's secret lairs."

"We're going to need Terra's help." She acknowledged.

"Right. I'll have Richard ask her. In the meantime we need to keep a close eye Victor and Blackfire."

"Gar, what are we going to do if they throw caution to the wind? We're not their parents."

"I know. Blood wants them to become intimate. If they do that will give him control over them. We could lose them both." He said wearily as he rubbed his eyes.

"You hungry?"

"Sure, why?" he replied.

"Let's get out of here and have something nice for lunch."

"That's the first good thing I've heard all day."

It was now the Grayson's second day at Wayne Manor. Much to Nightwing's relief Alfred had been safely recovered after the ransom was paid to the drug dealers, who at the time were unaware that Elizabeth had been snatched from the plane by Raven and Gar. Still that arrangement had left a bad taste in the Bat Clan's mouths.

Starfire was unhappy with the Grayson's situation, especially since Richard had not consulted with her before agreeing to return. And she was going to let him know it.

Nightwing was working with Barbara in the Bat Cave that morning, poring over intelligence reports. Since Starfire had formally accepted Batman's offer to join the clan she was given full access to the cave, which is where she found Richard.

"Good morning Richard, I see that some habits do not change."

Nightwing turned towards his lovely wife. "I didn't wake you when I got up did I?"

"No, Richard, you never do. Would you like to join me for breakfast?" she said with a slight hint of crossness in her voice.

"No thanks, I already had breakfast with Babs" he replied absentmindedly while reading yet another report.

Barbara elbowed him "Oh yeah, I've got something for you. I'll be right back!" and he ran off.

"How are you Kori?" Barbara asked her.

"I will be honest Barbara, I'm not very happy with this situation."

"I understand. If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

They heard footfalls on the staircase from the mansion. Star turned and saw a tall female figure dressed in a Bat Clan costume. She wore a cowl and for a moment she thought it was Cassie, the current Batgirl, but the costume was different. She then realized that it looked like Barbara's old Batgirl costume.

"Hey guys, what's up?" the figure called out cheerfully.

"Terra? Are you Batgirl now?" Starfire asked.

Terra laughed. "Oh no! Cassie's Batgirl. I still need to pick a costume name for myself."

Starfire was intrigued. "So what have you considered?"

"Well, since I'm an adult I thought I could be BatWoman, but Bruce shot that down right away."

Starfire giggled "BatWoman does not suit you."

"I know, it sounds so matronly, doesn't it. But I just had another idea. Robin is named after a bird, so I thought maybe I could be too. Then I thought of a cool name: Ravenclaw, you know like from the Harry Potter stories."

Starfire's expression became very stern. "Terra, you are joking, right?"

"What?" Terra replied indignantly.

"Terra" Barbara joined in "There's already a Raven in the extended Bat Clan."

Terra huffed.

"Terra, why are you always trying to irritate Raven? Is it because you are still in love with Garfield?" Starfire asked.

Terra flinched at the accusation. Then she shot back "What's it to you if am?" her voice was bitter.

Starfire shook her head sadly. "Terra, you must let it go. Gar belongs to Raven, and it will always be that way."

"And you think I don't know that? Why do you think I go out of my way to piss her off? It's my way of getting even with her for stealing him from me."

Starfire stood up, her fists clenched, with star bolts forming around them. "She did no such thing Terra. If anything she stepped aside to give you a chance. Twice I might add, and both times you threw it away and ran off with Slade."

Barbara spun her wheelchair around. "OK ladies, let's just calm down."

As if on cue, Nightwing returned with a large cardboard box. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Terra is threatening to steal Gar from Raven" Star replied angrily.

"I said no such thing!" Terra snarled.

"Enough!" Nightwing howled. "The last thing we need is for Bruce to walk into a cat fight in the Bat Cave. That would go over just great."

"I'm sorry Richard" Star apologized.

"Yeah, me too" Terra said halfheartedly.

"Just watch it Terra, you're still on probation." Nightwing reminded her. "We still have an opening in the new Titans Polar station you know."

He then turned to Starfire "I have a gift for you, why don't you go try it on?" She looked at the box with a puzzled look. "Come on, try it on. There's a room in the back if you want some privacy."

"Ok" she answered. She took the box and headed for the room.

She emerged from the room a few minutes later with a huge grin on her face.

"Richard, I love it. I wish Gar and Raven could see it. It's so cool!"

She was wearing a female version of Nightwing's costume, but hers also had a short cape.

"I remembered how much you loved the cape on my old Robin costume, so I added a cape to it. The mask is optional. I think everyone already knows that we're married."

"I like the mask. Raven was right, it does makes you feel cool."

"So" Terra asked. "What's your Bat Clan name going to be?"

Star smiled a big grin "Oh that's easy. I'm Nightfire!"

"I love it!" Barbara chimed in.

"Welcome to the clan, Nightfire." A deeper male voice spoke.

Everyone spun around. It was the Dark Knight himself.

"And I think I have a name for you Terra. We will call you 'Phoenix.'"

"I thought he was going to suggest 'BatBitch'" Dick whispered to Star, who suppressed a giggle.

"Phoenix?" Terra asked.

"Of course." Starfire answered. "Like the mythical bird you too have risen from your ashes."

"Well, if you guys like it, then I like it." She smiled.

"Star your costume looks great." Raven said "And I think Nightfire is a great name."

Gar was looking glum. "OK then, we'll keep in touch. Terra, call if you can think of anyplace Slade and Blood might be hiding."

"Sure thing BB." She winked at him. "Sorry I wasn't any help. And you can call me Phoenix".

"It's OK. Titans out." Gar flipped a switch, severing the link between Gar's office and the Bat Cave.

"Oh great, that's just great. They're never coming back now." He moaned.

"Why are you so sure?" Raven asked him.

"Star's got a costume now Rae, and a new name. We are so screwed. But I wouldn't blame him for not coming back. Look at all this paperwork. And the bills! How did he ever make ends meet? And on top of that he found time to lead a team?" he sighed "My head hurts."

Then the alarm went off.

"Oh please, please let it be some loser like Control Freak or Mumbo." He whined as he and Raven ran to the ops station in the common room.

Victor was at the ops station, typing away.

"What have we got Vic?" Gar asked.

"Three different incidents. Sladebots are robbing a bank downtown. Adonis and Johnny Rancid are wrecking havoc at Jump City College, stealing the tuition receipts. And there are reports of CyBots trying to break into Wayne Enterprises."

Gar took command. "Raven and I will tackle the CyBots. I'll bet anything that Blood will be there. Blackfire and Jinx, you take the SladeBots and watch out for Slade. Hot Spot and Kid Flash, go to the College. Everyone be extra careful, I smell a trap. Titans Go!"

OK, we're gonna have some action next time. The Bat Clan will start having some of their own headaches as well.

Thanks to those who have reviewed. While I made an outline for this story I have already made changes. What I'm saying is that I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Chapter 6 – Ambush

Hot Spot and Kid Flash were the first to arrive at their destination. Kid Flash had already been on site for a few minutes and had scouted out the situation by the time Hot Spot flew in.

"It looks pretty straightforward. Rancid and Adonis are in the student union. Some of Rancid's robo animals are prowling the grounds." Kid Flash reported.

"This doesn't make any sense. Other than the Credit Union, there's no cash in there. What are they going to steal? Jump City College hoodies?" Hot Spot replied.

"Well, we can't just stay out here watching. They have to be arrested, even if their crimes are stupid." Kid Flash protested.

"Fine, I'll take Rancid, you take Adonis." Hot Spot agreed.

"Let's do it."

Blackfire carried Jinx to the downtown crime scene. There were over two hundred SladeBots, fanned out over a two block radius.

"Doesn't this seem like overkill to rob a bank, even for Slade?" Jinx asked.

"It does. But we still have to stop them." Blackfire remarked as she charged up her gauntlets. "Let's get them."

She rose in the air, blasting SladeBots with her eye beams and repulsor rays.

Jinx joined in, casting bad luck spells that made the Sladebots malfunction.

Gar and Raven arrived at Wayne Enterprises on one of Raven's dark disks, which had become their preferred mode of transportation lately. Each carried a lightsaber, Raven had Windu's old lightsaber hanging from her belt while Gar had his personal lightsaber, which he had built himself. During the year since their encounter with Ventress Gar had trained Raven to use a lightsaber. She was a decent dueler, even if she could not tap into the Force herself. She would be no match for a Jedi or a Sith apprentice, but against a regular opponent she could be quite deadly with her lightsaber. Not that she planned on ever using it given her own formidable powers. Still, even she admitted that it was a nice backup weapon.

The first thing they noticed was that there were no CyBots to be seen. The main entrance to the Wayne Enterprises building had been demolished.

"What does Bruce do at this facility?" Gar asked.

"Nuclear research. They have all sorts of nuclear materials in there." Raven replied.

Gar's ears drooped. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"What does the Force tell you?"

Gar closed his eyes and focused.

"Great danger lies ahead." He sighed "That's it."

"Duh!" Raven replied sarcastically.

Gar glanced back at her.

"Let's be careful." he begged her. He fired up his lightsaber. "Ok, let's go in."

The entire Bat Clan was in the Bat Cave, monitoring the breaking news from Jump City. Nightwing had been training Phoenix (Terra) and Nightfire (Star) on how to use their utility belts earlier that day. Star was already very familiar with the Bat Clan weapons and was able to quickly learn to use them. Terra, being less athletic than the Tamaranian princess took longer, but eventually mastered the many tools such as the batarang and grappling hooks. Nightwing couldn't help but notice that they both looked stunning in their costumes, as did Cassie. If good looks could be used as a weapon, they would be invincible.

The Dark Knight wasn't feeling so upbeat.

"It's obvious that the Jump City attackers are trying to split up the Titans. We should expect the same here in Gotham, and it should be imminent. We will divide into no more than 3 teams: Nightwing and Nightfire, Batgirl and Phoenix. Robin & I will be the third team."

"It is likely that we are being set up, so I want you to retreat at the first sign of trouble. It's also possible that the Titans may suffer casualties or be captured."

"Will we be able to assist the Titans?" Starfire asked.

"If the need arises and we are able, then yes. But I have to warn you Nightfire that it's likely that we will be too busy to help them. But if they need to they can retreat here and regroup."

Just then several alarms went off in the Bat Cave. Barbara looked up from her console.

"The Joker has hit the local Federal Reserve branch. The Mad Hatter has kidnapped the Mayor and his family. Two-Face is robbing the Metropolitan museum. The Scarecrow has taken over the local water works. The Penguin is threatening to blow up the Bay Bridge, and there's more." She reported.

"It's going to be a long night. I'll take the Joker. Batgirl and Phoenix, you rescue the Mayor. Nightwing and Nightfire, secure the water works. Once you complete your assignment Barbara will give you a new one. Be careful, as I said before, these are traps."

Batman and Robin left in the Batmobile, while Batgirl and Phoenix flew away on a boulder. Nightfire carried Nightwing to the water works.

The Student Union was eerily quiet as Hot Spot and Kid Flash entered. Clearly Rancid and Adonis had been there, judging by all the destruction.

"In the bookstore, I heard something!" Kid Flash called. The two cautiously entered the college bookstore, carefully stepping through the debris of the trashed store as if it were an obstacle course.

"I heard something too; it sounds like someone calling for help in the back" Hot Spot said.

"Who's there? Do you need help? We're the Titans. Where are you?" They called.

"Over here! Help!" A voice called out from the storage room.

"We're coming! Hang in there!" Kid Flashed called out.

As he pushed open the store room door there was an explosion. There was gas everywhere. The two Titans lost consciousness.

Jinx and Blackfire were fighting tooth and nail with the SladeBots, who were targeting any civilians they could find.

"They have Blasters!" Jinx wailed.

"No doubt Slade acquired that technology from the Imperials" Blackfire grunted.

"I don't think this is a bank robbery" Jinx noted.

"No its not, but we have to destroy the SladeBots before they destroy downtown" Blackfire replied. "We have to separate. You take the blocks north of the bank, and I'll take the ones south."

"Ok, sounds like a plan!" Jinx replied and she headed north.

She was busy taking out SladeBots when she spotted Slade and began to chase him. Seeing her coming he fled. She gave chase until she cornered him in an alley. He was about to charge her when a brick wall collapsed on him, knocking him out.

Jinx approached Slade's unconscious form and removed his mask.

"Damn, it's just another SladeBot" she cursed.

Then she heard a female voice call from behind her.

"So Jinx, we meet again. It has been too long."

Jinx managed to say "No, not you!" before she was knocked out.

Gar and Raven gingerly entered the Wayne Enterprises building.

"Gar, I hate to admit this, but I'm scared."

"Me too Rae, me too." He replied."You know what? This is a bad idea. The Force is telling me to get out of here."

"Fine with me." She replied.

As they turned to leave they found a surprise waiting for them. It was Brother Blood and Slade.

"I'll take Blood" Gar said.

"And I'll take Slade." Raven replied.

Brother Blood grinned at Gar. "I have a surprise for you today Beastboy." He sneered as he pulled a cylinder from his cloak. He flipped a switch and it made the familiar snap-hiss ignition sound. The lightsaber had a red blade.

"A gift from my good friend Slade." He taunted Gar.

"Big mistake Blood" Gar sneered back "The Force is not with you!" Then he charged at Blood with supernatural speed, almost overwhelming him with his first strikes.

Meanwhile Raven and Slade were sizing each other out.

"I'm going to make you pay Raven, pay for taking my Terra from me."

"You ditched her yourself, you slimebag, don't blame us!" Her eyes were glowing black and her entire body was crackling with black energy.

"Raven, I heard that Terra has her eyes on your green boy toy. How does that make you feel?"

"I'm not 14 anymore Slade. You need new tricks!" she said as she threw a dark energy bolt at Slade, who deftly dodged it. "And last I heard Terra was happy to be rid of you. She even had your marriage annulled."

Brother Blood was an excellent dueler, but he was clearly outmatched by Gar. He kept falling back and realized that he would soon be cornered. He decided to take a chance and launched a counterattack. Gar was ready. He deftly parried away Blood's predictable strikes and with a precise stroke hit his lightsaber, slicing off the blade emitter. Blood's lightsaber was dead. Blood leaped over Gar, just out of reach from his lightsaber and landed behind Raven, who was fighting Slade and had her back to Blood. He blasted her with his red lightning. Raven cried out, convulsed and then fell unconscious as Blood ran to join Slade.

Blackfire finished destroying all the SladeBots in her sector and moved to Jinx's sector to help her mop up whatever was left. She found none and Jinx was nowhere to be found. She pulled out her communicator and called for Jinx, who did not respond. Her communicator did report its coordinates, and Blackfire traced it to an alley. She found the communicator lying on the ground.

"Damn it Jinx, where are you?" she shouted.

"She's not here, my Tamaranian friend."

Blackfire spun around and saw a woman with dark hair, dressed in red.

"Madame Rouge!" Blackfire hissed.

Rouge smiled coyly. "Nice to meet you Blackfire of Tamaran"

Nightwing had told her about Rouge. Blackfire decided to strike first and hard. She threw everything she had at Rouge, who was able to dodge her attacks. Blackfire then heard SladeBots approaching and quickly realized that she would be captured if she didn't escape. She took to the sky and quickly got away. One thing she retained from her old days was a strong sense of self preservation. She had long ago learned to recognize a lost cause, and this was one of them.

Blood and Slade towered over Raven's limp form.

"Surrender Beastboy, and we will not harm her." Blood offered.

Gar shut down his lightsaber and attached it to his belt.

"Your lightsaber, please." Slade demanded.

Gar knew that once he surrendered his weapon they would kill Raven, but if he attacked them one would kill her before he could dispatch the two of them.

He knew that he had only one choice. It would be distasteful, but he had to do it to save her.

"Your lightsaber! Now!" Slade demanded.

Gar's eyes began to glow red. He was feeling pure hatred for the two cowards. _How dare they threaten to harm her?_ He also was terrified of losing her. Anger, fear and hatred welled within his chest.

He raised both his hands towards the men. "Go to hell!" He screamed as Force lightning leaped from his fingertips towards the two men, who were engulfed by the lightning and began to scream.

Gar felt the raw power running through him and enjoyed it. He took pleasure in seeing his enemies writhe in pain, begging him for mercy. They would find none.

He paused, looked upon his enemies, their bodies smoldering from the lightning, and addressed them. "Slade, Blood, are you ready to die?" His eyes glowed even redder than before.

As he prepared to give the two the coup de grace, he heard Raven call out to him in a weak voice. "Gar, please help me."

Her voice snapped him out of his Dark Side trance. He rushed to her side and examined her. She had light burns on her skin. She looked at him. "Oh Gar, are you OK?"

He turned to the two villains, who still lay on the ground, and was tempted to finish them off right there and then. He could still feel the grip of the dark side on him but resisted the temptation. Instead he reached into his utility belt and withdrew two tiny tracers, placing one on each villain. He would deal with them later. Raven needed his attention now.

He scooped her up and ran to the exit carrying her in his arms. He stopped and shouted "Blood, Slade, next time you won't be so lucky!" As he exited the building he attached his lightsaber to her belt, morphed into a giant pterosaur, and flew her back to the Tower, where Victor saw the tracers activate and began to track the villains.

As Nightwing and Nightfire approached the water works they donned their gas masks. Nightfire was unnerved at the prospect of being gassed with Scarecrow's vile poisons.

It was silent when they arrived. There was no sign of Crane or his henchmen.

"I don't like this." Nightfire whispered to her husband.

"You shouldn't. Scarecrow is a psychopath that makes Slade look like Mother Teresa."

Suddenly they were stormed by dozens of Crane's henchmen. Nightfire easily batted them away, until one of them was able to knock away her gas mask, which went flying.

Nightwing noticed this. "Star, get out of here! They'll gas you!

Suddenly there was a hissing sound. "Go! They're releasing the gas!"

"Not without you!" she screamed. She flew up and threw star bolts at the henchmen, dispersing them. She then saw the Nightwing had also lost his mask and was holding his breath, surrounded by mists of the gas.

Holding her own breath she dive bombed into the crowd, plucking Nightwing away.

"No Star, we have to go back. They're going to poison the water works. We have to stop them!"

"No Richard, we failed, our orders are to retreat if we are in trouble… I'm sorry." She told him as they sped away.

Batgirl and Phoenix approached the Mayor's mansion in complete silence, floating on a boulder as they surveyed the grounds.

"Over there, the guest house." Phoenix whispered "Way too much light and activity."

"Yes" Cassie agreed "That's where they want us to think they are keeping them".

"So there's the trap. What do we do now?"

"Spring the trap." Cassie replied.

Batman and Robin stood before the entrance to the Federal Reserve branch. The double doors were shut but there appeared to be a party going on inside. The Joker's maniacal laugh could be heard above the din.

"Mistah J, this is the best party evah!" Harley shouted over the crowd.

Batman grunted in disgust and reached for a grappling hook gun. "We'll enter from the top" he told Robin, who also had his grappling hook gun ready.

"Harley, Harley!" the Joker shouted "Where are our manners?"

Batman grimaced, knowing that the Joker was going to try to pull something on them.

"Our guests of honor are outside in the cold! That just won't do! We have to welcome them properly! My dear, give them the red carpet treatment!"

"Yes Puddin'" she replied.

Suddenly the front doors burst open. Harley stood behind a rolled up red carpet.

"Hey Mistah B. Here's your red carpet!"

Harley kicked the rolled carpet down the steps.

"Robin, take cover!" Batman yelled. They both leaped away, taking shelter behind a concrete barrier. The rolled up carpet exploded into a huge fireball as it hit the sidewalk.

Victor saw Gar approaching the tower in his pterosaur form. That wasn't all that unusual. But he saw him carrying a limp figure with his talons.

"Raven!" Vic shouted, getting Blackfire's attention. "Blackfire, go out there and meet them, and take Raven to the infirmary!"

"I'm on it!" she shouted as she flew out the common room window. She intercepted Gar and took Raven in her arms. She turned and flew back to the common room, and from there she ran to the infirmary still carrying Raven.

Vic was already in the infirmary, getting Raven's med bed ready. As Blackfire stormed in, Raven had already regained consciousness.

"It's OK, I'm fine. Put me down Blackfire!" she protested.

"I'll be the judge of that." Vic harrumphed as he attached electrodes to Raven's head and neck. "Blackfire, can you get her into hospital gown?"

"I said I'm OK dammit! I healed myself on the way back." She pulled the electrodes off and looked around the room. "Where's Gar? Is he OK?"

Gar rushed in just as she asked her question "I'm here", he panted. "You OK? Blood fried you good!"

"What?!" Cyborg exclaimed "He zapped you with his red lightning? You're lucky to be alive."

Raven then stared at Gar "You didn't kill them, did you?" there was a look of fear in her eyes.

Gar looked away "No, I didn't. I put tracers on them. We can follow them back to their lair now."

Blackfire noticed Raven's look of fear. "Raven, what happened back there?"

"I attacked them with Force lightning." Gar volunteered.

Vic and Blackfire both turned to him and joined Raven in staring at him with concerned looks on their faces.

"I had to. They were going to kill her."

"Are you OK B?" Victor asked him.

Gar sat down on one of the beds "No. I'm not."

Raven embraced him, holding the back of his head with her right hand. "I could feel it Gar. It was consuming you, eating you alive. The Dark Side was turning you into a monster. I thought I had lost you." She began to sob. He returned her embrace. "Gar, I would rather die than have that happen to you."

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson. I'll never do it again." He sobbed back to her.

After a moment he released her from his embrace. "Where are the others?" he asked.

Vic and Blackfire dropped their heads. "We don't know." Victor replied. "We think they were captured."

"No!" Raven moaned.

"I saw Madame Rouge" Blackfire added. "We also know that they have some of the local villains helping them."

"So what do we do?" Vic asked.

"We rescue them." Gar announced "But first we need to recover. We rest four hours, then we strike."

"I should be ready then" Raven said.

"We're all wearing our Republic Armor. You too Blackfire, it's stronger than your Tamaranian armor. Vic, go check on Slade and Blood's location while we rest. Also check in with the Bat Clan. We'll meet at the ops station in ten minutes."

Gar took Raven's hand and they left together for their suite.

Vic turned to Blackfire "You'd better get your rest too."

She stared at him, and then took his hand. "Come" she softly commanded.

"Are you sure about this Blackfire?"

"We won't give in to Blood, I promise you."

Vic blushed "I don't know…"

"Will it be your first time?" she asked. Her voice was as soft as a pillow.

He nodded as his blush intensified.

"Me too." She added.

Vic gulped. "Ok" He caressed her face tenderly.

"Come with me."

Slade and Blood slowly regained consciousness, every inch of their bodies ached.

"What happened?" Blood asked "I feel like a train hit me."

"It appears that our friend Beastboy has learned a new trick. A very good trick." Slade answered as he tried to get up. "We're lucky to be alive."

"You certainly are, traitor! Lucky for you I don't hold grudges!"

"Vixx?" Slade said in astonishment.

"What? You think we were all stupid enough to go down with the ship?".

I hope this didn't suck too much. More Bat clan action next time.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 7 – Raven's breakthrough

"So how do you propose we spring the trap?" Phoenix asked Batgirl.

"They're expecting us to come crashing in. Let's not disappoint them."

"With emphasis on 'crash'?" Phoenix snickered, as she willed a huge round boulder out of the ground and rolled it at the guest house.

"Now to find the Mayor and his family" Batgirl said as the boulder crashed into the house, sending the henchman scurrying out, running for their lives.

"They're running to the stables. Let's get them."

Phoenix pulled a Bat-Bola out of her utility belt and took two henchmen down with it. Batgirl threw several gas pellets into the crowd, knocking out several thugs. In less than a minute the two shapely femme bats had neutralized the herd of toughs.

"Now we see what's in the stable" Phoenix said.

_**-( - )-**_

The explosion was phenomenal, taking out the façade of the bank. Batman and Robin had barely sheltered themselves in time. The explosion had left a smokescreen that covered the entire block. The Dark Knight and his sidekick went back to their original plan and used grappling hooks to get to the top of the bank.

The scene around the bank was pure mayhem, which provided the duo the cover they needed to penetrate the building. Batman immediately noticed that there were booby traps everywhere. They were expecting them. Instead of taking the stairs down to bank lobby the rappelled down.

The lobby was silent and empty. No sign of the Joker and no hostages.

"Robin, search but be careful with booby traps." He commanded as they separated to search the main level.

After a minute the Dark Knight called out "I found them." He was in the Bank President's office. When Robin entered he saw a gruesome scene. All the hostages had been exposed to the Joker's laughing gas and had died, with gruesome smiles on their faces.

_**-( - )-**_

Nightwing had called Oracle to report on their failure. She sounded frazzled. "It doesn't matter Nightwing, there's been thirteen more incidents since you left. Some of the villains are not local: Dr. Light, some blue magician, Monsieur Mallah, and more. I'm recalling everyone to the Bat Cave. We need to regroup."

_**-( - )-**_

Raven woke up first. She had cast a small sleeping spell upon herself and Gar that they might get a few hours rest before the rescue, and it had worked. They both fell deeply asleep, almost immediately. Gar's hand was still resting on her hip. She looked at his tranquil face, kissed him on his forehead and snuggled up to him. She could see the alarm clock and realized that they still had an hour to rest. Deciding to savor that hour she drew even closer to him, closed her eyes and felt his breath on her face. She was tempted to wake him, as she suddenly felt the urge to do more than merely snuggle with her man, but she resisted the urge_. Don't be greedy Raven._ _He needs the sleep, and who says I'm not enjoying this?_ The truth was that she was feeling happy, savoring the moment, knowing well that in two hours they would all be pitched in a fierce battle to rescue their comrades. But that would be later.

_If only I could make this moment last longer._

Raven's eyes popped wide open. _Of course, why didn't I think of that!_

Carefully she got out of bed, put on her robe and glided to her bookcase in their living room, which is where Gar found her an hour later, surrounded by her books.

"So you'd rather read than cuddle with me?" he teased.

"I think I have a solution for Vic" she said with a big smile.

"Really? What is it?"

"You how I've been trying to find a spell to match Blood's spell?"

"And striking out?"

"Don't remind me. Anyway, I had an idea while snuggling with you. Why not extend the current spell, so it lasts indefinitely?"

"You mean I was your inspiration?" Gar laughed.

"Yeah, you were. I was enjoying the moment so much I wished I could make it last longer."

"I didn't know you felt that way." He teased her.

She tossed a throw pillow at him.

"Laugh it up, but I found a spell. It allows me to extend another spell, and only I can undo it. Blood won't be able to recall his spell."

"Rae, you did it! Let's go tell Vic!"

They dressed hastily and ran to Vic's room, but he wasn't there. They then ran to Blackfire's room, hoping they would be hanging out together. The found the door unlocked. They knocked, but no one answered. Gar cautiously opened the door and saw the scene.

"Oh crap." He whispered as he backtracked out of the room. Raven also saw the interior of Blackfire's room. Clothes were scattered on the floor, leading to the bed, in which Blackfire and Vic were sleeping together in a tight embrace.

Raven shut the door as quietly as she could.

"They need to get up, we have a mission." Gar moaned.

"Then feel free to go in there and wake them, because I sure as hell won't." Raven challenged him.

Gar took her arm and led Raven to the common room, and whipped out his communicator.

"Changeling calling Cyborg and Blackfire. Respond please."

Vic answered "Sorry man, I overslept. I'll be right there. I'll call Blackfire for you."

"Thanks, meet us at the ops station. Changeling out."

"That was very diplomatic of you, considering they violated a direct order."

"I can't wait to see their faces when we break the news to them."

_**-( - )-**_

Fortunately for the Bat Clan things improved once they regrouped. Still, it took the entire day to respond to all the incidents. By the end of the day Mad Matter, Penguin, Two Face, Clay Face, Rag Doll, Killer Croc, Fire Fly, Mumbo, Control Freak, and many others had been captured. Only The Joker, The Scare Crow, The Brain and Monsieur Mallah remained at large, and the last two had almost been captured by the combined forces of the Bat Clan.

Still the battles had taken their toll on the Clan, especially on Nightwing who almost kept Mallah from escaping. In the end he was unable to defeat Mallah and had to be rescued by Nightfire to save him from certain death when the brainy gorilla overwhelmed and pummeled him

As the clan regrouped at the end of the day in the Bat Cave, they were addressed by their leader.

"You all performed admirably, but we cannot let our guard down. We should expect more attacks tomorrow."

"Bruce is right." Barbara interjected. "I have intercepted a message from The Brain to Slade. He has been ordered to Gotham with his forces. They don't know it, but the Titans are about to attack them. I expect the Titans to be successful, as they will probably catch Slade and Brother Blood off guard. I have requested that the Titans follow Slade and company back to Gotham. Once here we will unite forces with them and defeat the axis of evil."

Phoenix became animated "So BB will be here?"

"That's the plan Phoenix. Just keep your hormones in check. Oh and don't forget, he isn't available. Remember, I need you to stay focused. If I see any sign of trouble you're staying behind with Barbara, understand?" The Dark Knight replied.

"Yes Bruce" she meekly replied.

"Good. Now everyone get some rest."

_**-( - )-**_

"Dammit! They almost caught us." Vic complained "And I still haven't checked in with the Bat Clan."

Vic dressed while panicking. As he ran to the door, Blackfire caught up with him.

"Vic, I don't want it to be this way." She was about to cry.

"Blackfire, baby, what's wrong?"

"Vic,I don't want to hide. I want everyone to know. I want to marry you."

Vic was stunned. "Wait, isn't that my line?" he said, still stunned.

"You watch too many movies." She laughed weakly.

"You know that next week I'll be 80% artificial again."

"I don't care. We'll find a way. Raven promised to help."

Vic stared at her "OK, why not? You got yourself a fiancé." He said with a huge grin.

_**-( - )-**_

Nightfire and Nightwing trudged back to their room. Alfred was there and greeted them.

"I fed Elizabeth and changed her diaper. She should sleep for at least 4 hours." He informed them. "I also drew a bath for both of you. I placed a hamper in the bath room for your costumes, which I will collect in the morning."

As he headed to the door he turned "Call me when you are done with your bath and will bring dinner to your room."

"Thank you Alfred" Nightwing replied. "Alfred, is that a gun and a holster at your side?"

"Yes Master Richard, it is. It is a 'Nubian blaster' I believe, sent to me by Master Garfield at Mrs. Grayson's request."

"And Bruce had no complaints about you arming yourself?"

"Under the circumstances, no, he did not. Enjoy your bath." And he was gone.

"Alfred armed with a blaster?" Nightwing shook his head as they entered the bath. The tub was huge, with enough room for the two of them.

Nightwing moaned with pain as he tried to remove his costume top.

"Let me help you." Starfire volunteered. As she removed her husband's costume she gasped. His entire torso was covered in bruises, cuts and burns.

"It's that bad, huh?" he remarked off handedly.

"Oh Richard! You are harmed!" her voice trembled as she helped him into the tub. She quickly joined him in the bath. "I wish Raven were here to heal you." She began to clean him with a wash cloth. "I will speak with Bruce in the morning. You are in no shape to go on a mission."

He noticed that she only had a few minor bruises.

"No, don't do that. I'll speak with him."

"And end up on a mission!" she snapped at him. "Oh Richard, you have so much inner strength, but you are only human. You are not as resilient as I am."

He knew he could not win this argument. "Let's wait and see if Raven arrives before then and heals me. If she doesn't then I'll excuse myself, OK?"

"OK, but no tricks!" She replied sternly.

"No tricks. I promise."

_**-( - )-**_

Vic and Blackfire walked into the common room together, hand in hand. When they looked at Raven and Gar they knew something was up.

"We have news for you." Raven began.

"We also have news." Blackfire added.

"Go ahead" Gar rejoined.

"OK, look, I know this is going to sound a bit rash, but we decided to get married." Vic stammered.

"That's great news!" Raven beamed "And I already have your wedding gift!"

"Really?" Vic and Blackfire answered.

"Oh yes, I found a way to extend Blood's spell indefinitely."

The engaged couple looked stunned. "You aren't joshing me, are you Raven?" Vic asked.

"Would I do that to you Vic?"

"No, I suppose you wouldn't." he said slowly, before turning to Blackfire, hugging her. They both turned to Raven, with tears in their eyes.

"Thanks Raven, thanks." they said together, looking as if they were about to break down.

"Ok, let's not get too mushy, we still have a rescue mission." Gar reminded everyone. "But after we get back I promise that we will have the biggest celebration since our wedding."

"And I'm coming!" Vic intoned.

"But Vic, you have no powers." Raven reminded him.

"So? Neither does Nightwing. I'll wear some of that plastoid armor and I'll pack a couple of blasters. Oh, I'll wear Blackfire's old thermal blaster too."

"Fine, I can see that there's no stopping you Vic. Go suit up."

"Wait!" Raven interrupted. "Let me set the extension spell first, it will take only a few minutes."

"Go for it." Gar replied "I'll give me a chance to commune with the Force."

_**-( - )-**_

Slade and Brother Blood paced in their lair. They had just received the summons from the Brain to travel to Gotham.

"So you say these 3 Jedi are apprentices Slade?"

"They're Dark Jedi apprentices and from what Ventress told me they aren't very good. Beastboy will no doubt slice them to shreds if they confront him."

"So?"

"We can either take them with us to Gotham, or leave them behind to fight the green Jedi Knight. They could be useful when fighting the Bat Clan."

"You give that caped freak too much credit Slade."

"I would never underestimate the Dark Knight Blood, and neither should you."

"And what about the hostages Slade?"

"We use them to slow down the Titans. I'll ask Vixx and his friends to beat them severely. Then we leave them behind. I know for certain that Beastboy will be leading a rescue."

"How do you know that?"

"I found a tracking device on me. You probably have one too" Slade inspected Blood's cloak and quickly found it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he hissed at Slade.

"You didn't need to know. Now we'll leave these here. They Titans will arrive, find their wounded comrades and rush them to a hospital while we leave for Gotham."

"I hate the idea of retreating like this."

"So do I, but we cannot defeat Beastboy and Raven by ourselves. They have become far too powerful."

"And what about Cyborg? I had a…"

"Forget it Blood, we need to get ready to leave."

_**-( - )-**_

Raven had completed her spell.

"Am I supposed to feel anything Rae?"

"No, you shouldn't. But it's done." She turned to Blackfire "Don't forget our deal." She reminded her.

"Deal?" Vic intoned "What deal?"

"I promised Raven she could be my Matron of Honor if she pulled this off."

"Oh, OK" Vic replied, looking a bit nonplussed.

Gar was still meditating. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he jumped up.

"Slade has 3 Dark Jedi with him, and they're torturing the prisoners, we have to go now!"

"Three?" Raven screamed "Are you crazy? We can't fight them."

"They're apprentices and they're weak in the Force. I can take them. You three will rescue the hostages. You can handle Blood and Slade."

"I hope you're right Gar." Raven replied with a hint of worry in her voice.

_**-( - )-**_

"Do not insult us Slade. We will stay and destroy the Jedi." Vixx responded angrily as Slade explained his plan to them.

"We need you in Gotham." He replied.

"We do not care about your petty criminal syndicate Slade. We have greater goals than you. And the first one will be to eliminate the changeling Jedi."

"Then I wish you good luck."

"We don't believe in luck." Vixx hissed at him. "Go ahead, run away traitor. We will meet again."

"As you wish." Slade replied. _But I doubt we will, you proud fool._

_**-( - )-**_

And another chapter is done.


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 8 – Beware the Dark Side

The Titans arrived at the landfill, searching for the entrance to Slade's lair.

"The last time I was here Mr. Fixit tried to make me 100% artificial." Vic said with a shudder.

"Of course, that's where Slade's lair must be!" Gar exclaimed.

"Duh, why didn't I think of that?" Vic replied "It's over this way. Follow me."

The team jumped down into the lair's entrance, quickly getting their bearings.

"Raven, can you sense the prisoners? " Gar asked.

"Yes, they're over that way. I can sense a great deal of pain from them. But I think they are alone." She replied.

"Ok, the three of you can rescue them. Raven, heal them then get them out of here. Something's strange though, cuz I can't sense Slade or Blood anywhere nearby."

The three nodded and took off in stealth. Raven and Blackfire floated while Blackfire carried Victor. There would be not footfalls to give them away.

Meanwhile Gar let the Force lead him to the Dark Jed, and he found them in what used to be Fixit's "Operating Room". They all wore vicious grins on their faces.

"So Ahsoka's pet has arrived!" Vixx sneered. "There is still time to run away rookie. You won't be as lucky as last time."

Gar kept his cool, letting the Force calm and center him. "So who are you supposed to be? Washout boy?" Ahsoka had told him that most Dark Jedi apprentices had flunked out of the Temple due to lack of skill. "Did you even make it to Padawan, or did they show you the door before even that?"

"Laugh all you want, changeling, you will die!" Vixx hollered as he lunged for Gar. Ahsoka was right, he was clumsy and unskilled. Unfortunately he had friends, who also attacked Gar at the same time.

Gar was much quicker than they were and managed to keep them at bay, countering their strikes. He realized that he would soon tire and they would have the upper hand. He would have to defeat them quickly.

The youngest of the three, Zar, took an especially clumsy strike at Gar, who parried it and responded with a swift side kick to Zar's solar plexus, knocking his wind out, then using the Force he pinned him to the ground and held him there. He then turned and placed a Force choke on the other apprentice, Krinn and pushed him against the wall with a Force push, pinning him to the wall. He turned to Vixx.

"So Dark Jedi, still feeling confident?"

Suddenly Gar felt a tingling sensation on his back, and recognized the warning from the Force. He tumbled to his side, just dodging a barrage of blaster fire.

_Clone Troopers? Where did they come from?_ He wondered as he blocked their follow up shots with his lightsaber. There were over twenty of them and he was struggling to deflect their shots while keeping Zar and Krinn disabled. Suddenly they both broke free.

"We brought some friends." Vixx laughed. "See what mercy buys you Jedi? You should have finished Zar and Krinn when you had the chance."

_**-( - )-**_

The Titan trio quickly found the prisoners. They were shackled and badly injured. They were also wearing the same power neutralizing collars that had once weakened Starfire when she was held prisoner on the Palpatine's Hand.

Raven released their shackles with a wave of her hands and some black energy, and began to heal Kid Flash while Blackfire used her eye beams to slice the collars in half. After she was done with Kid flash she started on Jinx when she heard the blaster fire in the distance.

"Garfield!" she wailed.

"Go to him." Jinx commanded. "Hot spot and I are OK"

Raven flew out of the room towards the sounds. Once she entered the operating room she saw Gar fending off Vixx. His right arm was slumped, and he was wounded by blaster fire. Most of the Clones were already dead as were Zar and Krinn, who were now both headless corpses. She quickly dispatched the remaining clones, once again snapping their necks as she had done before. She felt no remorse this time, as she now understood that they were mindless killing machines.

Gar was in bad shape but took advantage of Vixx's distraction when Raven entered the room. Summoning what little strength he had left with a good dose of the Force, he skewered Vixx, who was dead before he hit the ground.

Gar moaned and fell to his knees.

"Gar! What happened?" Raven cried.

"I took some blaster fire" he whispered.

Raven ripped his armor and shirt off, and examined the damage. He had lost a lot of blood, but his wounds weren't bad, except for his right arm which had clearly endured a lightsaber strike which had cut deep.

"You're going to be the death of me Gar." She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. She healed his wounds quickly, but he was still weak due to his blood loss.

"How are the others?" he asked as he sat up.

"They still need some healing." She told him as she slung his good arm over her shoulder. "Let's get them and go home."

"Wait." He asked. He reached out and summoned the Dark Jedi's lightsabers to his hands. After catching them he attached them to his belt. "Ok, we can go now. I just didn't want to leave those here for someone to find." He then looked at the fallen clones and sighed."We'll have to clean this up; we can't leave it this way".

"I'll have Titans East take care of this." She replied. "You need to get to the infirmary."

_**-( - )-**_

Back in the infirmary Vic followed up with the wounded, who were now doing fine. Gar had received a few units of his own stockpiled blood and looked as good as new. The Titans East had arrived and cleaned up the gruesome scene at landfill.

When the others were out of earshot, Raven gave him an order: "Come with me." She led him to their suite.

_Oh crap, I'm going to get it now _he worried.

After Raven closed the door, she slugged him in the chest with all her might, knocking him down.

"You idiot!" She screamed at him. He knew better and kept his mouth shut. "What were you thinking? Why didn't you run when the clones showed up? Did you really think you could take them all by yourself?"

"I'm sorry; I was just trying to buy you some time." He replied meekly.

The anger vanished from her face and she offered Gar both of her hands, lifting him up from the ground, after which she seized him in a fierce hug. "Please be more careful, for my sake if not for anything else."

"I promise. I'm sorry."

She kissed him, and then released him from her hug.

"We'd better get ready to go; they're expecting us in Gotham."

_**-( - )-**_

It was just before dawn in Gotham when the Titan's shuttle arrived at the Bat Cave. Nightfire, Phoenix and Batgirl where there to greet them. Gar had decided to bring the whole team along. Nightfire greeted them and congratulated the newcomers on their new status as permanent members of the team.

"Nice outfit Star, I mean Nightfire." Gar said with a wink. "You and Nightwing now make quite the crime fighting pair."

"What do you think of my new outfit, huh BB?" Phoenix asked Gar, making sure to show off her curves to him.

"Uh, nice I guess. Isn't that Barbara's old Batgirl outfit?" he asked.

"No it's not silly; Bab's costume would never fit me. I'm way taller than her. Plus it's made of this new material, strong as Kevlar and smooth as silk, here feel it!" She took his hand and placed it on her hip.

He quickly pulled his hand back "I'll take your word for it." He could feel Raven seething behind him.

"Would anyone like some breakfast?" Alfred interrupted as he came down the stairs into the Bat Cave. "I took the liberty of preparing some in anticipation of your arrival."

"Count me in!" Gar hooted while he charged up the stairs. In a flash, all the men were gone.

Raven turned to Phoenix "Terra, we need to talk."

Nightfire grabbed Batgirl's arm "Cassie, Blackfire Jinx and I will join the boys for breakfast."

"No, please stay." Raven replied, before turning back to Phoenix.

"What is it Raven?" Terra whined as she rolled her eyes.

"I have a bone to pick with you."

"Oh please, what is it now?"

Raven looked as if she were about to explode.

"Keep your hands off Gar!" she screamed. "He's mine! Get that that through your thick skull. Will you?!"

"Oooh, afraid he'll dump you for me aren't you?"

"Terra, what's your problem?" Jinx asked "Are you nuts?"

"Is it my fault that I love BB?"

"You never loved him, you bitch!" Raven snarled at her. "You broke his heart twice!"

"And you got to pick up the pieces, didn't you? You think you're so clever Raven, but I can see right through you."

As the others gasped at the unfounded accusation, Raven replied "You have no idea about how much you hurt him, especially the second time you broke his heart. Well, let me enlighten you". Raven cast a spell and conjured a scene from the past:

_It was the evening after you told him to get out of your life. Gar came back to us and helped us chase the strange creature that was wrecking havoc on Jump City. Gar spotted its weakness and we destroyed it. It turned out to be a prototype SladeBot._

_After our victory we went out for dinner, but Gar didn't join us, saying he was tired and he went back to the Tower._

_When we got home later I felt a wave of anguish and sorrow coming from his room and I ran to it._

"_Beastboy are you OK? Can I come in?" I shouted. He didn't answer so I phased into his room._

_He was kneeling at his bed, bawling. I went to him, knelt beside him and put my arms around him._

"_Beastboy, what's wrong?" I asked._

"_She doesn't love me Raven, she told me to go away." He sobbed. I tightened my hug._

"_It's OK Beastboy, you're better off without her, believe me."_

"_No I'm not!" he cried "I'm a loser, a total goober. No one loves me!"_

"_That's not true!" I protested._

"_That's not what I mean Rae. I know you guys love me like a brother. I thought she was my girlfriend. I thought she loved me Rae, but she doesn't."_

_I wiped his tears with a tissue._

"_Who am I kidding Rae. I mean, who could ever love me? I'm a freak."_

"_Beastboy, you are not a freak."_

"_Oh who are you kidding Rae? I'm short and scrawny. I'm a green nerd. I have fangs and pointy ears. Who could ever possibly love me?" He began to cry again._

"_How about a short girl, with grey skin, purple hair and a bad temper?"_

"_What?" he sputtered, choking back his tears "Really? You love me Raven?"_

_I cradled his head in my hands and kissed him. I had never kissed anyone before, not even a peck on the cheek, so I had no idea of what I was doing. After a blissful eternity our lips separated._

"_Rae, does this mean you're my girl?"_

_I nodded, and then laughed gleefully. "I love you Garfield Logan! I always have."_

_He hugged me back so tight I thought he was Starfire for a moment "I love you too Rae" and he began to cry again, and this time I joined him._

"Raven !" Nightfire interrupted "This is how you became a couple? It is so beautiful!"

"Thanks Star, but I was trying to illustrate to Miss Rocks for Brains here how much she hurt Gar."

Raven turned to Phoenix "So get it through your thick skull bimbo, he will never be yours again, because he doesn't want you to hurt him again."

Phoenix got up and stormed out of the Bat Cave in a huff. As she was leaving Raven gave her a final shot.

"Consider this a courtesy call Terra. Next time, if you lay even a finger on him I'll break every bone in your body." Raven howled at the retreating blonde.

Nightfire, Batgirl, Jinx and Blackfire stared at Raven dumbfounded.

"Sorry about that!" she apologized with a slight blush.

"For what?" Jinx replied. "That was great! It's about time she was put in her place!"

Raven sighed, deciding to change the subject. "So, what do I have to do to get a cool Bat outfit of my own?" she joked.

"Funny that you should ask." Batgirl replied as she pulled out a box and handed it to Raven. "Try it on"

_**-( - )-**_

The guys were in the dining room, scarfing Alfred's gourmet breakfast as fast as he could replenish it. He had served it buffet style, much to their delight.

"Please Gentlemen, save some for the ladies".

Nightwing had come down to join them. "Where's Raven? I need her to heal me."

"Down in the Bat Cave with the girls" Gar replied between mouthfuls of food. "oh wait, here they are!"

Gar dropped his fork at the sight that greeted him. Wearing a costume similar to Batgirl's, but with violet gloves, belt and boots and wearing a violet mask was Raven.

"Well Gar, what do you think!" she asked him.

Gar stood dumbfounded, staring at his wife's shapely figure.

"That is so totally hot!" Gar shouted.

"And functional too" Bruce chimed in. No one had notice him enter the room. "I ordered bat suits for all of you. They will protect you far better than your Titan outfits." Bruce smiled before continuing. "Also, I want to tell you that the Titans are now officially members of the Bat Clan."

"Dude, you mean there's a bat suit for me too? That is so cool!" Gar was ecstatic. "Where is it? I want to try it on."

Raven smiled and rolled her eyes. _Gar, you're such a kid. Please don't change._

Bruce resumed talking "We haven't had any intel on the enemy, but Oracle is still trying to find something. Meanwhile we will train. We'll meet 1 hour after breakfast. Cassie, I want you and Gar to give us a sparring demonstration, both with and without weapons."

He turned to Nightwing "After Raven heals you, find Terra and tell her to come see me. I saw her in the hallway and she didn't look OK."

"I can explain Bruce." Raven began.

"You read her the riot act? Good, it's about time. Now let me see what Alfred made for breakfast today."

_**-( - )-**_

Another day, another chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Chapter 9 - Sparring

The newly extended Bat Clan had gathered in the Manor's gym. Garfield was already wearing his new bat outfit. It was similar to Nightwing's costume, except for the green gloves, boots, and belt. It also had a full length cape, which Gar was debating on whether to lose or keep. Gar decided to wear a black mask, similar to Robin's mask. Vic teased him about the mask, telling him that it didn't hide his green faced identity one bit. Gar told Vic to shut up. 'It makes me look cool' was his justification for the mask. Gar was also pleased to notice Raven checking him out. The suit did highlight his now adult physique. He also noticed that Jinx, Blackfire, Batgirl and even Star were giving him approving glances.

Curiously though, Terra never looked his way.

"So Rae, like what you see?" He teased her.

She laughed and replied "Gar, I've seen you in your birthday suit plenty of times. Why should this be any better?"

He grinned back "So why were you staring?"

"Because you look so hot!" Jinx said in a phony dreamy voice.

"What she said." Raven replied with a smirk.

Blackfire joined in the conversation "So Ravie, it looks like your little heart to heart with Dirt Girl worked."

"What's she talking about Raven?" Gar asked

"Nothing, I just told Terra to stay away from you." Raven replied.

"Under penalty of death!" chortled Jinx.

"What?" Gar sounded aghast.

"Oh, Jinx is exaggerating BB. Ravie dear only threatened to break every bone in her body!" Blackfire laughed.

By this point Raven was blushing profusely. "I only said that in the heat of the moment. You know I would never hurt her."

"You sounded pretty pissed Raven. Heck, now I'm afraid to flirt with Gar." Cassie joked. She had first met Gar about 3 months after he and Raven began dating in secret during a Bat Clan visit to Titans Tower. She had been smitten with him from the get go and flirted shamelessly with him. Gar had been super polite but turned down all her advances, much to her chagrin and to Cyborg's and Robin's amazement. Cy couldn't believe that Gar was turning down a chance to date such a 'hot girl'.

"Good!" Raven replied, clearly in jest. "You should be!" All the girls broke out in laughter which was interrupted by the arrival of the Caped Crusader.

"Today we are going to train without using any powers we might have. I know that you Titans will not be happy about this, but I've seen you fight. To be honest, except for the Tamaranians, your basic skills are poor. I'm surprised that Dick didn't train you better. So I'm having you pair up with someone who will help you develop your skills. Your mentor will train you for the next 3 hours. We will break for lunch, followed by a sparring round with your mentor."

Batman pulled out a list and read from it.

"Cassie, you're with Garfield. Robin, you take Raven. Nightwing with Cyborg. Terra with Jinx. Nightfire you take Hotspot. Blackfire you take Kid Flash. Now remember, no powers allowed. Garfield, for you that means no morphing and no using the Force. I will supervise. Lets' spend the first hour with basics: stances, blocks and strikes. Begin!"

Gar turned to Cassie. "Great, I'm going to get my butt kicked." He muttered.

"Afraid of a girl Garfield?" she teased him.

"Only cuz I'll both my arms tied behind my back!" he retorted.

Cassie and the rest of the mentors spent the morning drilling their apprentices on the basics, who to their credit rose to the occasion. Even Raven who had neglected her martial arts training the most over her years with the Titans picked up the pace. Slade had done a great job training Terra, whose skills were clearly up to par with Batman's expectations, but she was having trouble training Jinx.

"This is pointless!" Jinx complained "I'm not athletic. It doesn't come naturally to me!"

"All the more reason to train!" Terra reminded her "If you're going to be part of the clan you have to combat ready!"

"You're really taking this Bat Clan business seriously, aren't you?" Jinx answered.

Terra didn't respond right away. "Yes, I am. For the first time in my life I have meaning and direction."

"And what about Gar? Didn't he give you meaning and direction?"

"He did. Terra nodded. "But Raven was right this morning. That door has closed and I need to move on."

"So Raven scared you, huh?"

Terra snorted. "I've beaten her before and I could do it again. But she's right; she won BB fair and square."

"And you're OK with that?" Jinx asked with a hint of skepticism.

"Not really, but what choice do I have? He loves her and not me. But you know what really hurts? Raven was just as messed up as I was, but he forgave her all the crap she did to him. For years she insulted him, slapped him, and humiliated him. I got so see this first hand. Except during my two moments of weakness when I broke his heart I worshipped him. Yet he chose her."

"You broke his heart twice Terra." Jinx replied. "Most guys would be sticking pins into little Terra voodoo dolls after that. You're lucky he's still your friend, but he'll never be your lover, you blew that for good. It's true that Raven was messed up too, but she held off from him until she got her life in order. He knows that she'll never betray him, and after what you did that means a lot to him, enough for him to overlook Raven's many other flaws."

Terra nodded, then changing the subject she continued.

"Jinx, I'm afraid of being rejected again. I really want to succeed with the Bat Clan"

"Then don't screw up! You had it made with the Titans until you ran away with Slade. Just hang in there! Bruce believes in you, but don't be so thin skinned. Accept his criticism, and you'll grow. But I'm only going to tell you this once: don't piss off Raven. Bruce is annoyed with your flirting with Gar, so knock it off, you understand? You're not the only one here suffering from unrequited love. Babs had a thing with Dick before he left the clan. Yet she knows better than to flirt with him."

Terra stared off into the distance, and sighed. Jinx walked away, but stopped for a moment.

"Oh, and whatever you do Terra, don't run away with Slade again."

Slade and Blood had made themselves at home in the Joker's lair, or at least as comfortable as one could get in the lair of a madman who keeps hyenas as pets and whose moll is a homicidal harlequin. It didn't help that the place looked like a cross between a joke shop and circus big top. At least there was plenty of room for what was left of the SladeBots and Brother Blood's CyBots. The Joker had managed to cajole the remaining Gotham villains into joining the effort to wipe out the Bat Clan. This included Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Cat Woman, Bane, Scarface, Lady Shiva and even a few psychotics like Mr. Zsasz. And of course Dr. Crane was still with the Axis.

The Brain and Mallah had their cabal to offer the Axis, including Madame Rouge who had been on loan to Slade, as well as General Immortus, Gemini, Warp, Phobia, and Plasmus, the last of which he picked up in Jump City.

The Joker addressed the assembly.

"My fellow colleagues in mayhem, destruction and let's be honest here, in just having plain old fun, I greet you and welcome you to my lair. Today we are under new management, and will not repeat the mistakes of a few days ago."

"Who put you in charge, clown?" Madame Rouge interrupted. "Why should we listen to you?"

"Listen here toots; no one talks like that to Mistah J!" Harley roared at Rouge "How many of you Brotherhood shmucks have ever captured the B Man? None of you! That's how many. SO SHUT UP AND LISTEN!"

"Thank you Harley. Now friends, we have to change tactics! Being logical with Batsy will get us nowhere. We need mayhem and madness! The more the better!" He finished the sentence with his maniacal laugh.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the Joker's right." Slade interrupted. "Logic won't serve us to defeat him. I have tried that approach with Batman, and I failed."

"Thanks Slady, but next time raise your hand before interrupting me. Or better yet, don't interrupt."

This time it was Mallah who interrupted the Joker. "But what about the Titans? Rumor has it they left Jump City to join Batman's Team."

"The more the merrier!" The Joker laughed. "They're all lightweights anyway! Who cares?" he laughed even louder.

Rouge turned to Mallah and whispered "Is he really the criminal genius everyone says he is?"

"It is hard to believe, but yes, he has no equal" Mallah replied bitterly.

"What have gotten ourselves into?" Rouge moaned.

"Patience Madame Rouge, Monsieur Mallah. It will be worth it." The Brain spoke in his synthetic voice. "We will destroy the Titans once and for all. The Joker can have Gotham, we will take the world."

Lunch had been a disappointing affair for the Titans. Alfred served a vegetarian meal, insisting that anything heavier would "adversely affect their sparring efforts". He did console them with the promise of something more satisfying for dinner.

As they headed back to the gym, Gar and Raven walked back together.

"I'm not looking forward to this Raven. Cassie is going to hand my head to me on a platter."

"I'm sure she'll go easy on you Gar."

"Do you think Robin will go easy on you? No? I doubt Cassie will give me a break either."

As they assembled in the gym they all sat down on the bleachers that Alfred had set up during the lunch break. Gar remembered Bruce's comment that he and Cassie would give a demonstration first, and got up from his seat next to Raven.

"Wish me luck." He said half heartedly.

Bruce addressed the clan.

"Garfield and Cassie are going to give us a demonstration. First they will spar one 3 minute round without Gar using any of his powers. Then in the second round Gar will be allowed to use his powers. This will demonstrate the reason to develop your fighting skills. There will be times you cannot use your powers."

He turned to Gar and Cassie. "Fight!"

Gar went into fighting stance, waiting for Cassie to make the first move. She feigned a left roundhouse kick and switched into a jump spin heel kick, and did it so quickly that Gar was barely able to block it, after which delivered a spinning back kick straight towards Gar's plexus, which she missed and hit his ribs instead. Gar crumpled from the pain and fell onto one knee. He instinctively summoned the Force to dull the pain, realizing that she had cracked at least one of his ribs. Raven leaped to her feet, but felt Bruce's hand on her shoulder pulling her back down. She gave him a death glare, but complied and sat down.

Gar was back on his feet. _What_ _the hell is wrong with her? She's trying to kill me._

Cassie resumed her blitzkrieg and Gar did all he could to stay out of her way. Finally towards the end of the 3 minute round he managed to kick her legs out from under her, but she was back on her feet in less than a second. Then just as the buzzer sounded she connected her fist with Gar's face, leaving it a bloody mess. As soon as she heard the buzzer Raven was on her feet, but as Gar looked up he saw Batman pulling her back to her seat, yelling at her.

_Now the gloves come off._ Gar thought to himself. He had promised himself to go easy on Cassie when allowed to use his powers, but that deal with himself was off. He looked up at the clock and saw that the one minute break between the two rounds had just begun. He summoned the Force to himself, first focusing on his injuries. He felt his ribs heal and then heard someone call his name. He reached out and caught the damp towel that had been tossed at him and wiped his face. He was surprised at the amount of blood he wiped away and once again summoned the Force to heal his face wounds, or at least stop the bleeding.

After a final wipe he threw the towel away and looked at the clock again. Still 15 seconds. He knelt and communed with the Force until he heard the buzzer and heard Batman command "Fight!" He shot up from his kneeling position and somersaulted twice in the air before kicking Cassie in the face, sending her flying. To his surprise Cassie leaped to her feat immediately, her face bloody and lunged at him. Using his Force super speed he dodged all of Cassie's strikes before hitting her with a Force enhanced back fist strike, again sending her sprawling. Her face was a mess, with blood dripping over her costume's chest area, and it took her a little longer to get up.

"Submit!" he commanded.

"Never!" she replied, while she rose to her feet.

Gar realized that he might have to permanently damage Cassie to stop her. He looked up and saw Raven in the bleachers. She was yelling "Gar, don't hurt her!"

Gar turned back to Cassie who had begun yet another attack. He knew what he had to do. As Cassie jumped to deliver a flying round house kick Gar repelled her with a Force push, then seized her with Force choke, holding her with it until she blacked out. Batman pronounced the round as over. Gar then turned and motioned to Raven, who was already on her way to assist Cassie.

By the time Raven had reached her Cassie had regained consciousness, and angrily rejected Raven's help.

"What the hell is your problem?" Gar snarled. "She was only trying to help."

"I don't need your pity Garfield." Cassie screeched back. "And I don't need your mercy!"

"What? So you would have preferred I beat you to a pulp?"

"Yes I would have!"

"Maybe I didn't want to hurt you? Didn't that occur to you?"

"You don't deserve your powers. You are weak!"

Gar stared at her aghast. He had heard the stories about how she had been raised and now he saw that they were true. Cassie had been raised as a 'win at any cost killing machine' and it made his blood run cold to think about it. In spite of all of Batman's help and training he realized that Cassie was still a borderline psychotic. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw it was Raven, who placed her hands on his face and began to heal it.

After she was done with his face she checked his ribs and finished the healing that he had started. Once she was done she hugged him.

"Well done my love. I'm proud of you."

He hugged her back. "Thanks, now watch out for Robin." He chuckled.

As they turned they saw Bruce having a heated discussion with Cassie. They then walked out of the ring her arm around his waist and his around her shoulder.

The rest of the matches were less interesting. They were all "no powers only" and as expected the mentors won easily, but without any bloody faces or cracked ribs.

Alfred lived up to his dinner promise, serving the extended clan a memorable supper. Vic swore that it was the best Prime Rib he ever had, while Gar gave him kudos for his Tofu Marsala, which Raven also ate in solidarity with him and admitted that it was very good.

Cassie did not attend the meal, which did not go unnoticed by Gar.

After the meal was over, Bruce addressed his extended team.

"I congratulate you all for your fine performances. Titans, you are all quick studies and you did fine. Raven, thanks for healing everyone's injuries. Garfield, thank you for demonstrating to us what self restraint and good sportsmanship are about even though your opponent did not reciprocate."

"Today's exercise demonstrated two points that we should all remember. First of all there is no substitute for good conditioning and good fighting technique. Regardless of any other skills you might have, good technique will get you out of trouble some day. Secondly, never underestimate an opponent with powers, as Cassie did with Garfield."

"Maybe I should go see Cassie after dinner. Just to make sure there are no hard feelings." Gar whispered to Raven.

"I'll come with you. But if you ask me, she owes you an apology."

"Maybe, but I won't ask her for one."

There was a knock on Cassie's door. _Who could it be now? Who else is going to chew me out for being so vicious with Gar?_

"Come in." she sulked. _Terra?_

"Hi Cassie. How are you doing?"

"I've been better."

Terra examined Cassie's face. "BB sure can pack a wallop these days." She remarked off handedly.

"Bruce is really pissed with me now. He said that I was excessively vicious in the first round and that I could have seriously injured Gar. And to add insult to injury Gar was merciful with me and knocked me out with a choke hold in the second round. Then I was a complete jerk with Raven when she offered to heal me."

"So what happened?" Terra asked.

"I don't know Terra. I lost control, as if I was only a spectator watching my body do something I didn't want it to do. You know what I mean?"

"More than you could imagine." Terra replied.

"Is that why you ran away from the Titans?" she asked.

"In part. The truth is that I never felt that I fit in with them, no matter how hard I tried." Terra confessed. "Slade gave me unconditional acceptance, and I pledged my loyalty to him not just once, but twice."

"Is it true that you were married to him?"

"Yes, yes it's true. And you want to know why? Because he didn't judge me. He did get angry with me, even to the point of beating me, but in the end he accepted me for whom I was and didn't try to change me."

Cassie hung her head and sighed. "You know, for years I have tried to do everything that Bruce has asked me, and yet I never feel that I am good enough. All he does is criticize me. And I've had it Terra, I've really had it. I can't take it anymore."

"I know what you mean. Now for me it's the pain of having lost BB for good, and to Raven of all people."

"That has to hurt. When I first met him I asked him out more than once, only to be rejected repeatedly. It turns out he was dating Raven in secret at the time. Is she really a witch?"

"No, its worse. She's a demoness. Well, a half demoness."

Cassie looked at Terra with an expression of shock "And he married her?"

"Yup, makes ya feel real good to learn that you lost out to a monster, doesn't it?"

"I hate it here." Cassie said bitterly.

"I really want to succeed here, but I don't feel that I can be myself." Terra added.

"Join the club. Here it's Bruce's way or the highway."

"Maybe we should consider the highway." Terra suggested.

Cassie nodded in agreement.

Sorry if I'm dragging this out. But we'll get to the showdown, I promise.


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 10 – Runaways

It was 8 AM and Victor wasn't a happy camper. Yesterday's sparring match with Nightwing had been a disaster, a painful reminder that he was no longer a super hero. To make matters worse Batman had summoned him with no warning that morning to the Bat Cave for a private meeting. To sum it up, Batman had told him that with additional training he could become a combat ready member of the clan. The Dark Knight reassured him that he had the necessary talent, but that it would take some time for him to reach a level of competence needed to go on a mission. For now, however, he was assigned to help Barbara with her duties as Oracle.

Needless to say, Vic was less than pleased with the outcome of the meeting. He had a great deal of respect for Babara, she was after all the original Batgirl, but now he couldn't help but feel that like her he was 'damaged goods'. He knew that neither the Titans nor the Bat Clan would toss him out, but he couldn't help but feel like a failure. If this is what being 'normal' again meant, then maybe the old adage was true: 'be careful of what you wish for, you might just get your wish'. He thought about Blackfire. What would she think of him now? He imagined a scene. He was at a party with super heroes and Blackfire would introduce her husband, 'the tech nerd', to her colleagues. Vic shook the image out of his mind.

He was trudging down the hallway on his way to the dining room for some breakfast when he ran into the Graysons, who were on their way to the same place. Kori was wearing one of her trademark joyful grins as she ran up to Victor and hugged him. Dick was carrying Lizzie, and he too was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Victor! Victor!" She shouted with glee. "Blackfire has just shared with me your most glorious news." She smothered him with kisses before continuing. "You are now my brother Victor, and I am so happy!"

"What?" Vic replied, clearly confused."We just got engaged. How can I be your bro-in-law?"

"Don't be silly Vic! You are betrothed and have consummated your love with each other. Under the traditions of my people that is equivalent to what you call 'eloping'. The wedding is but a formality!"

Vic couldn't believe what he was hearing. "B-b-blackfire didn't say anything about that!" he stammered.

"Oh, you know my sister; she's never been big on tradition."

The four of them continued together to the dining room. The only other ones there were Raven and Gar, who looked like they were finishing up with their meal. Or at least Raven did. Gar was preparing to help himself to more hash browns, tofu eggs, tofu bacon and another glass of OJ.

"Gar, isn't that going to be your third helping?" Raven chided him.

"So?" he replied. "What's the problem?"

Raven turned to Starfire, who was now standing behind Gar in the breakfast buffet line.

"Kori, would you mind refreshing Gar's memory on how he looked when you travelled into the future?"

Star looked a little unsure as Gar turned to look at her with a "_don't you dare"_ look on his face. She had also just noticed that Gar's thinning spot was quickly becoming a bald spot as she hovered above him.

"Well, he was balding…"

"And?" Raven inquired.

Star sighed "….and he was very fat."

"Thank you Kori." She then addressed Gar "Need I say more?"

Admitting defeat, Gar dropped his plate into the busing cart Alfred had left in the room and sat back down, looking very unhappy.

"Look, there's nothing we can do about your hair, but over this we have some control." She reassured him as she took his hand and squeezed it.

Gar laughed half heartedly. "I was thinking about shaving my head, you know, that way everyone will get used to me being bald."

"Not on your life buster!" she said as she ran her fingers through his almost shoulder length locks. "Not until you really are bald. Until then those green locks are mine."

"Yes master." He replied with a wink.

"Good, I'm glad you understand that." She replied with a laugh, and then changed the subject. "Why don't we go have that chat with Terra?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." He said as they walked out of the dining room, their arms joined together.

"_Yes master!_ I'm telling you, she has him whipped!" Vic laughed. He then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I was hoping you would call me that as well." Blackfire said coyly.

Vic quickly recovered from his surprise. "Good Morning Mrs. Stone. Care to join your husband for some breakfast?" he teased her.

She looked at Starfire _So she spilled the beans_, then back at Vic. "Sure, why not?"

"Oh man. I gotta call my Dad and tell him. He'll be so pissed there wasn't a wedding."

"Relax, hubby, we can still have a wedding when this adventure is over if that will make your old man happy!"

"Him, my grandma, my aunt Sylvia, my uncle James, my…"

"It's OK Vic, I get it." She floated into his lap and silenced him with a kiss. "I'll ask Alfred if he can move us to a better room." She purred as she caressed one of his ears.

_**-( - )-**_

After a short hike through the manor Raven and Gar reached Terra's room.

"How does Alfred keep this place so clean by himself? It's huge." Raven remarked.

"He must have elves or something." Gar replied as he knocked on Terra's door, which opened as it had been left slightly ajar.

"Terra, are you there?" Gar asked "I want to talk with you."

As they entered the room it was clear that Terra had not slept in her bed last night. Knowing that she was Cassie's friend they ran to her room down the hall to see if she knew where Terra might be. It too had not been slept in.

"We'd better tell Bruce" Raven said in an alarmed voice.

_**-( - )-**_

One of the advantages of living in Wayne Manor was that Alfred had just about anything one could ever need, and that included camping gear. Cassie and Terra had changed from their Bat outfits into jeans and T shirts. Cassie then led Terra to the storage 'room', which was more like a warehouse. There they found everything they needed: tents, sleeping bags, back packs, hiking boots, socks, and mess kits, pre-packed freeze dried camping food, camping clothing, the works.

Terra suggested they hit the great outdoors as it would give them time to think about their next move. Terra was an expert at not leaving tracks that could be followed. Once they had all their gear together they quietly left the Manor and walked to a nearby vacant field. Terra summoned a large boulder from the ground, making sure to cover the hole it left behind with dirt. The two women jumped on the boulder and it flew away until they reached Gotham National Forest.

After floating around for half an hour they found a nice secluded area and pitched camp there, carefully camouflaging it so it wouldn't be visible from the air. It was now 1:00AM and they decided to call it a night.

"Are you sure Bruce won't find us here?" Cassie asked.

"If we stay here long enough he will, but we will move on tomorrow." Terra replied as she crawled into her pup tent. "Get some sleep; we need to be up by dawn."

_**-( - )-**_

"Bruce, Bruce!" Raven shouted as she flew down the stairs into the Bat Cave, with Gar close behind her.

Batman looked up from his computer console with Oracle at his side who was also looking in the direction of the arriving Titans.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Its Terra and Cassie, they're gone! They didn't sleep in their beds last night."

"Great." He muttered in his low voice as he rose from the console.

He turned to Oracle. "Barbara, check the security camera recordings. Let me know what you find. Have Alfred check the garage and the storage room, I want to know if anything is missing. I'm going to their rooms." With that he stormed out of the Bat Cave.

"Why aren't the two of you in uniform?" he asked the Titans. Raven was wearing her white leotard and cape while Gar was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

Gar thought quickly and replied "Uh, we didn't want to get them dirty with breakfast."

"Just get changed ASAP and tell the others as well."

Gar and Raven entered their room as Batman continued on to Terra's room. They quickly changed and hurried to Terra's room, arriving as Batman emerged.

"Terra was never in her room last night." Batman informed them before bolting for Cassie's room. They chased after him, following him to Batgirl's room. He entered and quickly assessed the room.

"They were both here. And for a while too. They both sat on Cassie's bed, and tried to smooth out the impressions they made on the bed spread before they left."

Gar and Raven looked very hard and saw nothing. The Detective had a sharp eye.

"Rae, can you feel any residual emotions in the room?" Gar asked her.

'They're very faint, but I can tell that both were upset. What can you see through the Force?"

Gar sat on the floor and communed with the Force for a few minutes. After he was done he opened his eyes and said "They ran away" in a surprised voice.

"That was my conclusion as well." Batman replied.

_**-( - )-**_

Terra and Cassie had broken camp by 7:30 and were on their way over a ridge. Terra was checking a map and found a network of caves on the other side of the Gotham Gorge near Roosevelt Dam, which was only 5 miles upstream. After a quick flight on Terra's boulder they were able to see the dam. Terra pulled a pair of binoculars out of her back pack and surveyed the area. What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

"Slade!" she hissed.

"You're kidding!" Cassie replied. "What's he doing out here?"

Terra continued to survey the area. She saw several SladeBots hidden in the adjacent forest. After further searching she also caught a glimpse of the Joker and Harley.

"This looks bad Cassie, I also saw the Joker and Harley. I don't think they're just hiding out here, they're up to something."

"They are certainly up to no good." An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind them. They tried to run, but were paralyzed.

_**-( - )-**_

The entire Bat Clan, minus Cassie and Terra, were in the Bat Cave, this time in their bat attire. Raven and Gar had their lightsabers hanging from their belts. Alfred was reporting on his findings.

"Master Bruce, it appears that enough camping gear for an extended stay in the wilderness is missing from storage I'm afraid."

"And the Garage?"

"All vehicles are accounted for."

Batman pondered Alfred's findings for moment. "They can't be too far from here. If I wanted to disappear I would head for Gotham National Forest. It's 100 square miles of thick forest and wilderness."

"Terra's no stranger to sleeping under the stars." Gar shared.

Batman brought up a map of the Gotham Forest and began assigning portions of it to each team member. Just as he was done, an incoming call came through the Justice League Channel. Batman opened the channel and The Green Arrow appeared.

"Hey Bats, an old friend of Beastboy says he found something that belongs to you."

The screen switched views and Gar saw his old mentor from his Doom Patrol days, Mento. Standing next to him were Terra and Cassie. Mento addressed Batman.

"Batman, I'm Mento from the Doom Patrol. We were keeping an eye on Slade and the Joker out here in Gotham National Forest when we bumped into these two young ladies, who insist they work for you."

"Greetings Mento. So they claim to work for me?" Batman replied with a smirk.

"Don't laugh Batman! It's not funny. The Joker and Slade are up to something with the Roosevelt Dam." Cassie pleaded.

Batman turned to the Tamaranians. "Nightfire and Blackfire please go and bring back our two runaways." He handed Nightfire the coordinates and the two alien princesses left immediately.

He turned back to the screen. "Mento, we need to talk. It appears that we are working on the same case."

"We are. We have tracked the Brotherhood of Evil to Gotham. It makes sense for us to work together. Where shall we meet?"

"I have a backup base under Arkham asylum. It shouldn't be too far from where you are. The entrance is south of Arkham, off highway 128. Look for the vandalized deer crossing sign. Can you be there in 1 hour?"

"We'll be there." Mento replied, and then turned towards Gar. "It's good to see you again Garfield. Sorry we missed the wedding, but you know how it is, duty first!"

"Oh we understand." Raven replied dryly, her arms crossed, remembering how disappointed and hurt Gar was when Steve and Rita were no shows at their wedding. "Weddings are everyday events for us, you know."

"It's nice to see you again Raven." He paused. "Look, we're really sorry, OK? Believe me that we were just as disappointed in missing your wedding."

"It's no biggie; you're only Gar's adoptive parents after all." Her body language indicated just how annoyed she really was with them.

Batman interrupted. "Ok, see you in an hour." And he severed the connection.

"Nightwing, Robin, Gar and Raven, you're coming with me. The rest of you, stay sharp."

"You want me to come?" Raven asked.

"Yes, you and Garfield need to reconcile with Mento, since we will be teaming up with the Doom Patrol."

"Bruce" Raven replied "You need to know that Mento is not a team player. He's a zealot who will sacrifice the lives of his team to achieve a goal. I'm not comfortable working with him."

Batman turned to the other Titans, who agreed with Raven by nodding.

"Garfield, do you agree with them?" Batman asked.

Gar sighed before responding. "The Doom Patrol is a second family to me, but I agree with the others. Steve has become a fanatic."

"Unfortunately we need their help. But I'll keep your warnings in mind."

"Just don't expect him to save anyone's hide." Raven warned. "Regardless of how easy it might be."

_**-( - )-**_

The Princesses arrived at the rendezvous point in the forest in a matter of minutes, where they met Mento and the two runaways.

"OK, they're all yours." Mento said as he bade them farewell and headed off to Arkham.

"Terra, Cassie, would you mind explaining yourselves?" Nightfire asked them very crossly.

"I don't have to explain anything to you Star." Terra snarled.

"Why the hell did you run away?" Blackfire asked angrily. "You had everyone worried to death."

"Because we don't fit in." Terra replied "You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't understand? Look at my hands! They're artificial, and you know why? Gar whacked off my real hands with his lightsaber to stop me from killing Raven!" She screamed.

Blackfire regained her composure before continuing. "If I can fit in, you can fit in."

"Cassie." This time it was Nightfire "What happened yesterday? You were trying to harm Garfield during sparring.

Cassie hung her head before speaking. "I don't know. I was angry with Gar and I lost control."

"Angry? About what?" Nightfire asked incredulously.

Still staring at the ground she fessed up. "I was jealous."

"Jealous!?" Blackfire interrupted. "What is it about the green elf that brings out the worst in women?"

"I was jealous of his powers and …"

"Oh, please don't say it."Blackfire warned.

"Seeing him and Raven together as a couple made me angry and jealous."

"So the logical solution was to beat the stuffing out of him? Not the best way to win a man's heart my dear." Nightfire chided her.

"I lost control." Cassie was in tears. "I can't believe I tried to hurt him."

"Lucky for you Gar has far more self restraint, otherwise you'd be in the infirmary." Blackfire concluded.

Nightfire was shaking her head in disbelief. "Let's go home." She commanded.

Terra and Cassie reluctantly hopped onto the floating boulder and followed the Tamaranians back to the BatCave.

_**-( - )-**_

Ok, so what is the Axis of Evil up to? We're getting closer now.

What will happen next? Will Raven buy Gar a case of Rogaine and a membership with weight watchers?

Stay tuned.


	11. Chapter 11

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 11 – Swept away

The Doom Patrol had arrived at the Arkham Bat Cave. Gar had been the lookout and he led them into the cave once they arrived. He introduced them to Batman, Nightwing and Robin, who at this point had chosen to keep their identities secret from Mento and his team.

"Mento." Batman started "Before we begin our cooperation discussions I think there is some unresolved business between the Doom Patrol and the Logans that needs closure. We will give you some privacy." He then turned and along with Nightwing and Robin retreated to the far end of the cave.

Mento stared at the couple, who returned the silent stare. Finally Negative Man spoke up.

"Steve, if you won't tell them the truth, I will."

"Larry, please don't." Rita implored.

Gar gave Mento a dirty look. Mento then tried to use his mental powers to mollify Gar but ran into an impervious barrier, which made him shudder.

"So that's the Force? I'm impressed Gar."

Gar stared blankly at him. "The truth?"

Mento hesitated, but Rita finally couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out.

"Garfield, I'm so sorry, but the real reason we didn't come was because…." She paused, unable to finish the sentence.

"Because I didn't approve of Raven." Mento muttered, with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Garfield, don't be angry. We didn't know her that well back then. We thought you were making a mistake." Rita whimpered.

"I now know that I was wrong." Mento admitted. "You couldn't have made a better choice."

Gar was elated. _Mento admitted he was wrong! He never does that!_

Raven turned to face Rita, who in turn hugged her. "Please Raven, forgive us our stupidity. We now know that you are the best thing that ever happened to Garfield."

Raven returned her hug. "Thanks, you have no idea what that means to us."

Batman watched from a distance as the reconciliation was completed.

"Are you ever wrong about anything?" Nightwing asked Batman.

"Only once. There was a time I thought I was wrong, but it turns out I was right after all. But then I realized I was wrong when I thought I was wrong."

"Ha ha. Very funny. Not!" Robin moaned.

_**-( - )-**_

After discussing strategy with the Doom Patrol it was decided that the Bat clan would focus on the Gotham villains and the Doom Patrol would deal with the Brain, Mallah and Rouge. The first order of business was to get back to the dam and apprehend The Joker and Slade. The Doom Patrol was working on locating the villain's lair, and Batman provided them with a list of possible locations. Batman also gave Mento a Bat communicator while Mento gave Gar a Doom Patrol communicator. As soon as the Doom Patrol left the 5 Bat Clan members headed out to Roosevelt Dam.

From a safe distance they scoped out the dam. Robin was the first to find any sign of activity.

"Look, SladeBots in the overflow tunnel!"

"Rae and I can take care of those Sladebots. You guys find the Joker and Slade!" Gar said as he and Raven flew off to the overflow tunnel. Batman, Robin and Nightwing continued to scan the site for any sign of the The Joker or Slade.

Raven and Gar entered the tunnel and were immediately attacked by a squad of blaster equipped SladeBots. Raven flew into the air, dodging the blaster fire while hurling boulders at the robots. Meanwhile Gar was taking the Sladebots out with his lightsaber as they retreated further into the tunnel.

"Gar, don't you think this is too easy?" Raven called from above as she demolished the last SladeBot at the end of the tunnel.

Suddenly a maniacal laugh rang out in the tunnel. "Joker!" Gar shouted out.

"I was hoping for Batsy and the Boy Blunder, but you will do just fine Beast Boob!" the Joker laughed. "Ah, this must be the lovely Raven. So the beast tamed the beauty? You swept the pretty little witch off her feet, huh? Well how about if I sweep you away?" Again more maniacal laughter followed.

There was an explosion and a torrent of water began to flood the tunnel, sweeping Garfield away. Raven flew down to him; but by the time she reached him the tunnel was fully flooded and the torrent was stronger than before, knocking the couple against the tunnel walls. Raven formed a dark bubble around them to protect them from the flotsam and jetsam in the tunnel.

The surveying trio had heard the explosion and watched in horror as a river of water gushed out of the tunnel. As the flow increased to a full torrent they saw a black bubble fly out of the tunnel and bounce down the canyon walls to the river below, which had become engorged and turbulent with the sudden flow from the tunnel. The dark bubble suddenly vanished and two limp forms fell from it into the turbulent river.

"It's them!" Nightwing shouted "We have to get to them or they'll drown!"

Two figures shot from the sky. It was the Tamaranians, who had heard the explosion from the nearby rendezvous point where they had lingered with Cassie and Terra. They rushed to the dam when they heard the explosion, followed closely by Terra and Cassie who flew in on a boulder. Nightwing reached for his Titan's communicator.

"Star! Raven and Gar are in the river!" Dick shouted as he pointed into the raging flood.

Nightfire and her sister began to search but couldn't see them. Terra, however, did see them and leaped from her boulder with Cassie, reaching the Logans and keeping their unconscious forms above water. The princesses then swooped in, plucking the four from the raging waters, up to the top of the canyon where Batman, Robin and Nightwing had watched the disaster unfold.

After they landed Starfire performed CPR on Raven while Terra resuscitated Gar. After a few moments Raven coughed up some water and regained consciousness.

"Oooohh" Raven moaned holding her aching head "I can't believe we walked into that trap."

As she regained visual focus she saw Terra performing CPR on Gar and she appeared to be in a panic.

"Dammit BB! Breathe! Breathe!" she howled as she performed chest compressions, and then switched back to blowing into his now inactive lungs. Raven was frozen, too weak to help, reduced to a spectator in the tragedy happening before her. Finally after what seemed like an eternity Gar began to cough and ejected copious amounts of water before he resumed coughing. By this point Raven was fully lucid and had taken Gar into her arms.

Raven turned to Terra "Thanks" She whispered in a hoarse voice "Thanks for saving him."

Terra nodded in acknowledgement and stepped away, leaving the couple alone.

Gar finally opened his eyes, saw Raven, and smiled.

"What happened in the cave?" Batman asked.

"It was the Joker." Gar answered between coughs. "Why didn't I sense that trap?" He then felt around his belt. "Great! I lost my lightsaber."

Raven felt for her lightsaber and found it. "I still have the purple one." She told him.

"Good." Gar sounded relieved "I was afraid I would be stuck with one of those nasty SithSabers."

"Now what do we do?" Nightfire asked.

"We go home and recover." Batman ordered.

_**-( - )-**_

There had been no other incidents that day and after a quiet late supper the clan members. Raven and Gar looked exhausted and somber after their near brush with drowning. The flood happened so quickly that Gar didn't have time to morph into a fish before hitting his head against a rock. They were about to excuse themselves and turn in early when Blackfire stood up.

"Friends, I know this has been a rough day for all of us, but I have some good news to share."

Everyone except for the Graysons turned to her with hopeful looks on their faces. After the day's fiascos any good news was welcome.

"Let's see, how can I explain this? Ok here goes! Vic and I we did something that on Tamaran would be the equivalent of eloping here on Earth!"

Everyone stared in stunned silence, until Jinx spoke up.

"You mean you're married now?" she asked, with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You bet!" Vic beamed, clearly pleased with his new marital status.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Raven whispered to Gar "It would have been so much easier."

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda" Gar whispered back.

"What about the wedding?" Terra said her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Oh, we'll still have one." Blackfire replied. "Vic's family wouldn't let us get away without one."

"Hey baby, they're you're family now too!"

The announcement clearly changed the mood at the table. There were hugs and congratulations going around while Alfred carted in a small cake, apologizing that it was all he could get on short notice from the local bakery, and that had he sufficient advance notice he would have prepared a proper wedding cake for them.

_**-( - )-**_

A few hours later the Graysons were settling in for the night. Starfire had finished nursing Elizabeth, changed her diaper and tucked her in as Dick emerged from the bathroom. She was slipping on the Tinkerbell nightshirt that Dick got for her one of the times they went to Disneyland. They were regulars there, and Dick had recently purchased annual passes for them, much to Starfire's delight.

As they settled in for the night Starfire gave Dick and extra tight hug and an unusually long good night kiss.

"Are you OK Star?" he asked.

"We have all been in perilous situations before, but what happened today truly frightened me. For a moment I thought that we had lost two of our dearest friends."

"I know." He replied. "When Raven's bubble popped and I watched them fall unconscious into the river, I felt powerless to help them. It made me feel sick. It was a miracle you where still nearby. What happened?"

"We were about to head back to the Bat Cave when Terra asked Blackfire for advice on how to fit in with the team. We ended up staying and chatting until we heard the explosion."

"So Raven and Gar are alive because the four of you had a yak-fest?"

"Yes, Richard, because we women couldn't stop talking." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

He smiled at her before responding "I swear I'll never complain about that again."

She smirked "You forgot to say 'master'".

"Yes master." He replied, still smiling as he turned off the lights.

_**-( - )-**_

Raven was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, while Gar was plopped on the bed, exhausted both emotionally and physically from the day's events. He was still angry that he lost his lightsaber but hoped no one ever found it. He could imagine some stupid kids finding it and hurting themselves while they played with it. As Raven emerged from the bathroom he noticed she was wearing a nightshirt with a huge Eeyore and a Disneyland logo on it. The caption read 'Mornings make me blue.' After reading the caption he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You are. Since when do you wear anything from Disneyland? Never!"

"Not true. I wear the Jack Skellington hoodie you brought back for me all the time."

"Ok, fair enough, but Eeyore? Where did you get that?"

"Kori gave it to me last month. I'll admit the design is childish, but it is comfy."

"So when will you come with me to Disneyland? I hate going alone with Star and Dick."

She sighed. He went with them every time, and always begged Raven to join them. She never did, usually offering excuses about crowds, headaches or something else. "Fine, I'll go with you next time if you just shut up and let me sleep. I'm tired in case you haven't noticed. We almost drowned today, remember?"

"Deal!" he said with child like excitement, the day's ordeals already forgotten.

She could feel the happiness flow from her boy toy_. The things I do out of love for my green bean!_

He kissed her goodnight and turned off the light.

_**-( - )-**_

A week had passed with no further incidents. The Doom Patrol had searched all over Gotham for the Brotherhood of Evil, but with no success. Batman would go out on solitary patrols every night, trying to find any clue that might help, but came home empty handed every time. There was simply no sign of them, anywhere. As if they had vanished into thin air.

To stave off boredom and restlessness the clan was doing double shifts of training. Nightwing and Cassie spent time training the Titans on the fine points of using Bat weapons such as Batarangs and grappling hooks. They also drilled the team in sword fighting, using Gar as a sparring mate.

To make matters worse, there had been threats made against the Wayne household. There was concern for Alfred's safety when he would leave to run errands. Batman made a public announcement that the Bat clan would protect the Wayne household. It was decided that whenever Alfred had to leave the sanctuary of Wayne Manor that he would have two Bat clan guardians with him. The roster order was Nightwing & Nightfire, Batgirl & Garfield, Blackfire & Raven, Phoenix & Jinx, and Hotspot & Kid Flash. Vic was still benched and still unhappy, but he didn't complain while Robin was given a bye.

The first two days were uneventful as Alfred only had minor errands those days. On the third day he had several errands that meant he would be away most of the day, much to Blackfire and Raven's dismay.

It was late in the morning and they had stopped at the tailor's to pick up some new suits for Bruce. Raven was bored out of her mind and Blackfire was faring no better.

_Three more hours, just three more hours and we're done._ Raven thought to herself. As they headed back to the limo there was a commotion down the street, with screams and alarms filling the air.

"Blackfire, stay with Alfred while I see what's happening." Raven said as she flew away to investigate. Blackfire called Nightwing on her communicator to ask for reinforcements. Nightwing dispatched the entire Titan contingent except for Starfire who stayed behind with Lizzie.

As Raven reached the source of the commotion she saw its cause: CyBots. She scanned the area quickly, searching for Brother Blood, but could not find them. She then proceeded to demolish the CyBots as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of Bloods droids snatch a small girl from her mother and run off. Raven immediately gave chase and several CyBots tried to block her, but she quickly demolished them and tossed them out of the way. Finally there was nothing between her and the kidnapping robot, which ran into a dead end alley. As Raven flew into the alley there was an explosion. Something hit her head and darkness engulfed her.

The other Titans arrived to help mop up the CyBot attack, which curiously was already retreating into the cities sewers.

"That's odd." Kid Flash remarked. "They didn't even try to fight us."

"Strange indeed." Nightwing agreed. "Well, the police seem to have everything under control. Let's head on back."

"Has anyone seen Raven?" Garfield asked in a worried voice.

No one had seen Raven since the beginning of the battle. Gar called her on both their Titans and Bat communicators, but there was no response. He then began to search the battle zone frantically, but found no trace of her. Finally he reached into the Force to find her. It was a vain hope, since as Jarvik Katarra had once remarked that the Force did not flow through Raven, but much to Gar's surprise she was leaving a small tremor in the Force.

Gar began to run as Nightwing told him to wait. They would regroup at the Bat Cave and from there launch a rescue with the help of the rest of the Bat Clan. Gar reluctantly agreed and headed back with the rest of the crew.

_**-( - )-**_

Raven woke up with a splitting head ache. She touched a sore spot on her head and felt a huge bump. She also noticed that she was wearing a metal collar around her neck. She tugged at it but it was locked tight. She tried to use her black energy to remove the collar, but she was unable to summon her powers.

"Raven dear, don't waste your efforts, we have your powers perfectly neutralized."

"Blood!" Raven snarled, her voice dripping with contempt. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? You mean you don't know? Why, I want to kill Beastboy!" Blood laughed.

"You and what army Blood?" she hissed back "You can't touch him!"

"Quite true" Blood conceded. "But that's why I have you. You see Raven, you're going to kill Beastboy for me!" Brother Blood emerged from the shadows with an evil grin on his face. "Yes, you will kill him while you watch helplessly. It will be so entertaining! And once you and Beastboy are neutralized we will easily defeat the Bat Clan and the Doom Patrol."

Raven recoiled in fear for Gar. _What is Blood going to do?_

_**-( - )-**_


	12. Chapter 12

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 11 – Saving Raven

Gar charged into his room, unable to contain his fury. Partially morphing into the beast he bellowed a roar that was heard through the Manor. After morphing back into his human form he sat down on the bed, bent over, cradling his head in his hands. Despair washed over him as he forced himself to wait, as Batman had insisted. He knew the Dark Knight was right, they would use Raven as bait to trap him.

Garfield stood up and removed his Bat Clan costume, throwing it aside. He rummaged through the chest of drawers and found his Titans uniform. He stared at it for a moment before also tossing it away. He then stepped into the closet, emerging with his Jedi tunic.

He quietly put on the tunic, then the boots. He then attached the Jedi battle armor to his arms, legs and torso. He stood up and slipped on his Jedi robe, with the hood up. He attached Mace Windu's lightsaber to his belt.

He walked to the door to exit the room, but stopped. He stepped back into the closet, retrieving a small metal case, which he unlocked and opened. From it he retrieved the 3 Dark Jedi lightsabers he kept after defeating Vixx and his cohorts. He attached the one with the largest grip to his belt and returned the other two to the case, which he reclosed and locked before returning it to the closet.

He stood and looked at himself in the full length mirror on the wall. He was ready.

_**-( - )-**_

The entire extended clan was in the Bat Cave when Garfield entered, including Barbara and Victor. Except for Terra none of the inner Bat Clan had ever seen Garfield dressed as a Jedi Knight. Barbara gasped at his sight. He looked awe inspiring.

"Going somewhere, Garfield?" Batman asked him.

"I'm going to save my wife." Gar replied. "Do you have a problem with that?" His eyes glowed red with the dark side of the Force. The Titans knew what that meant and looked fearful.

"Please Garfield, do not leave now! We will help you rescue Raven, I swear by X'hal!" Nightfire cried.

"You know you are walking into a trap." Nightwing added.

"I can't stand waiting anymore!" Gar seethed. "I have to do something!"

"Please BB, if you leave now we'll lose both you and Raven" Terra implored him.

"Be patient, Garfield. We know that you are powerful, but they know your weakness, your love for Raven". Batman reminded him.

Gar collapsed into a chair, and began to weep. Nightfire hugged him in consolation. "Remember dear friend, we love her too and are willing to give our lives to save her. But we won't let you or anyone here throw away their lives in a vain rescue attempt. You are most powerful Garfield, but you cannot defeat them by yourself, not even with the dark side of the Force. And you cannot use the lightning; you promised Raven that you would never use it again. What good will it do to rescue Raven if you lose yourself?"

Garfield pulled the SithSaber from his belt and ignited it. It came to life, its red blade glimmering evilly. Gar could feel the dark side flow thru its grip. This lightsaber had many masters in the past, and Gar decided that there would be no more masters in the future. He shut it off and tossed it into the air where it remained levitated. He drew Windu's lightsaber and sliced the SithSaber in half, destroying it. As it fell it released a burst of dark side energy, stunning everyone in the cave.

"What was that?" Asked Jinx, her face contorted in disgust from feeling the evil that had escaped from the destroyed weapon.

"It contained a Force imprint of every dark master it's ever had, which were all released when I destroyed it. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

He turned to Batman. "So what's the plan?"

"I need to know where we are going, so I can tell The Doom Patrol where to meet us."

"They're hiding in an abandoned steel mill on the north side of town. I was able to feel Raven through the Force."

"The old Gotham Steel plant. It's a maze of old buildings, a perfect base for them. We will meet half a mile south. We and the Doom Patrol will attack first while you wait behind. On my signal you will sneak in and rescue Raven. Once you have her retreat back to the Bat Cave and wait for us. If we need you we will call you, but plan on staying with Raven. If she needs medical attention Alfred and Victor will help."

Gar nodded in agreement "Let's do it".

_**-( - )-**_

The teams meet at the rendezvous point south of the abandoned steel mill. Batman looked somber, even more than usual.

"They are expecting us. We should expect the unexpected. We will enter in three different locations. Doom Patrol, you will take the western entrance, Titans, you take the eastern side and the rest will come with me through the main gate. Gar, you come with us. I expect there will be gunfire. You can help us get past that. Once we are in you will wait at the main entrance until someone locates Raven, then we will call you so you can rescue her. Are we ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"OK then, let's move." The Dark Knight ordered.

_**-( - )-**_

Vic had stayed behind with Oracle in the Bat Cave, monitoring the rescue team's progress.

"I can't stand not being there to help Barbara." Vic complained. "How do you cope with it?"

Barbara Gordon sighed and spun her wheelchair around to face Vic.

"I don't. I die a little every time they go on a mission. Alfred does too."

"That's how I feel." Victor replied. He paused, as if deliberating something. "You and Dick, you were close, weren't you?" he asked.

"Very close." She replied.

"Yeah, I figured that. I always wondered why he took so long to make his move on Starfire. He went back to visit you a lot didn't he?"

"He did. We talked a lot about our future, at least until it happened."

"You mean when The Joker shot you in the spine. I remember that. Robin took a leave of absence."

"He was by my side until I was discharged from the hospital. There had been some hope that I might recover the use of my legs. I knew that my days as Batgirl were over, but I never expected it to be like this. That's when we broke up."

"You mean he dumped you because you were paralyzed?" Vic asked indignantly.

"No Vic. I dumped him. You see, I'm not just paralyzed; I have no feeling whatsoever below my waist. Dick told me it didn't matter, he would marry me anyway, but I couldn't let him, it wouldn't have been fair to him."

"Whoa! I didn't know any of that. Now I see why he was so slow to approach Star."

"I'm really happy for him Vic. Star is a nice girl and I know they will be happy. But I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't hurt to see them together. It could have been me Victor, had it not been for The Joker's bullet."

"I'm so sorry Barbara, and embarrassed. I was feeling sorry for myself and now I realize that you would trade places with me in a heartbeat."

She took his hand and squeezed it tight. "It's hard being an ex-superhero."

He squeezed back.

_**-( - )-**_

As the Bat Clan stormed the main entrance they were greeted by a rainstorm of laser and blaster fire. Gar led the charge, attracting most of the fire to himself and deflecting it with his lightsaber. The rest of the clan made it safely past the gauntlet of fire and had safely entered the building. It was quiet inside, until a smooth, monotone voice broke the silence.

"Well if it isn't my old friend Batman, and he brought his children with him. But where is Robin?"

"I'm right here!" Time Drake replied.

"No, not you boy. I want your predecessor. Nightwing. I have unfinished business with him." The voice replied.

"You're going down Deathstroke!" Batman snarled.

"I no longer go by that name Batman. Just call me Slade."

Slade emerged from a shadow, followed by dozens of replicas of himself.

"Slade, you cheating bastard!" Phoenix howled at him.

"Terra" a voice replied from the crowd of Slade look a likes. "How nice to see you again. So it's true that you are a member of Batman's harem now. I thought you had more class."

Batman, Batgirl, Cassie, and Phoenix drew their bat weapons. That was when the army of Slades charged, opening fire on the Bat Clan.

Gar had stayed in the shadows at Batman's request, but he was able to feel Raven's presence through the Force, which told him that he could reach her through the door on the far side of the room. He decided to charge through the crowd of Slades which he knew were SladeBots. He ignited his lightsaber and charged. He took down a dozen SladeBots by the time he reached the door. The SladeBots appeared to ignore him, focusing only on the Bat Clan.

_**-( - )-**_

As the Titans entered through the east they found themselves facing The Joker and the rest of the Gotham villains.

"The Joker is mine!" Nightwing shouted. "Star, you take Scarecrow, Jinx take Harley, Flash watch out for Poison Ivy, Hot Spot you take Mr. Freeze. Titans Go!"

_**-( - )-**_

Garfield followed the Force as it led him to Raven. He opened a door that led into a large empty warehouse. He saw a small figure in the middle of the room, slumped on the floor.

"Raven!" he shouted as he ran to the supine figure.

As he reached the middle of the dark room the figure, a small woman, got up with her back to him. She ignited a lightsaber, with a green blade, and turned around. She was wearing one of Slade's power controlling collars and her eyes were glowing red.

"Raven?" Gar called to her, his voice and face mired in confusion.

Raven's mouth opened, but it was Brother Blood's voice that came out.

"Time to die, Beastboy!"

_**-( - )-**_


	13. Chapter 13

Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, Star Wars, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

_**-( - )-**_

Chapter 13 – Between a rock and a hard place

The SladeBots were being systematically eliminated until only the real Slade was left.

"Batgirl, Robin, go help the Titans. Phoenix! We're taking Deathstroke."

As Batgirl and Robin charged out to help the Titans, Batman and Phoenix surrounded Slade.

"You used to be my apprentice Terra, now you are his. Do you think you chose wisely?"

Batman leaped at Slade, who dodged his attack, and struck back, barely missing the Dark Knight.

"You're past your prime, Bats. You should have sent Nightwing to battle me."

Phoenix summoned a cloud of gravel from a nearby pile and hurled it at Slade, who executed tow back flips to avoid it.

"Child, I taught you all your tricks, they won't work against me. Is this the best the two of you can do?"

_**-( - )-**_

The Doom Patrol was busy engaging Mallah, Rouge and the other Brotherhood of Evil minions. Robotman was fighting Mallah, while Elastigirl was battling Madame Rouge. Mento and Negative Man were keeping the rest at bay while the Brain observed from a safe vantage point. The battle was clearly a stalemate, but the Brain was more interested in events that were transpiring elsewhere.

"The changeling has fallen into our trap." He announced with his synthetic voice. "Once again he will fail, and will pay the ultimate price."

_**-( - )-**_

Nightwing and Jinx were battling with the Joker and Harley, who evaded their attacks but did not strike back. The Joker did taunt them of course.

"Once a boy blunder, always a blunder, right Nightwing?" The Joker cackled. "Of course you remember what I did to your sweetheart Barbara and your first replacement."

"Be quiet you vile man!" Nightfire screeched as she launched a barrage of star bolts at the Joker, while ignoring the Scarecrow momentarily.

"Star! Stay focused on Crane!" Nightwing shouted.

"You mean you never told her about you and Babs! Or should I say Batgirl?" the Joker howled in laughter.

Starfire had returned to battling the Scarecrow. In her fury she smothered him with star bolts, until moved no more. Realizing what she had done, she retreated from the battle.

"I'll take that as a 'no'" the Joker laughed.

"Star, help Hotspot!" Hotspot was having trouble with Mr. Freeze and was struggling for his life against the cold mastermind. Star snapped out from her trance and joined in the attack against Mr. Freeze.

Jinx had already captured Harley and had come to Kid Flashes aid against Poison Ivy.

Things were looking good for the Titans.

_**-( - )-**_

"Rae, fight it, you can regain control!" Gar shouted as he blocked a strike with his lightsaber. She had Gar's lost lightsaber in her hands. The Joker had found in the overflow tunnel, a small consolation prize for blowing his mission to eliminate a member of the Bat Clan.

Raven could only watch in horror through her own eyes as her possessed body attacked her beloved. She knew that Gar would be able to fend off her clumsy attacks, which were controlled by Brother Blood. But she also knew that he couldn't strike her down and he couldn't hold her off indefinitely. He had to retreat.

As if he could read Gar's mind, Raven's mouth opened and spoke again in Blood's voice. "Don't even think of running off Beastboy. If you do, I'll kill her."

Raven was screaming in her mind. "Run Gar! If you love me get out of here and save yourself. Please!"

The two continued in battle, Gar on the defensive while Raven's attacks become fiercer and came progressively closer to striking Gar. He only had to make a single mistake to fail, and he made one, a very unfortunate one. He slipped on a small oil stain on the ground and fell just as Raven was delivering a dangerous attack. He was unable to brace himself for the fall as he had to block the attack. After he hit the ground he dropped his lightsaber, which rolled away out of his line of sight.

As Blood raised Raven's arms to deliver the final strike she screamed in her mind. Gar looked helpless. She was going to watch him die, again. But this time the killing blow would be delivered accurately, and Raven could not even divert her eyes away from the horror she was about to witness.

Gar pulled a smoke bomb out of his belt, one of the few Bat weapons he brought with him and detonated it at Raven's feet. She couldn't see anything, which meant that Blood was also blinded. Blood flailed the lightsaber randomly, hoping to keep Gar away or maybe get a lucky strike. Instead he saw a purple streak come out of nowhere and slice off the emitter from the lightsaber in Raven's hand, leaving it permanently disabled. Gar had retrieved his lightsaber.

Blood realized that the battle was lost and ordered Raven's body to retreat. But it was too late, as Gar leaped at Raven in the form of a tiger, knocking her down. The tiger waved its paw over the neck collar's lock and the collar popped open falling off Raven's neck. By the time Gar had morphed back into his human form Raven had recovered control and not a moment too soon as a platoon of CyBots had entered the room, firing upon the couple. Raven had already raised a dark shield to protect them from the barrage of fire. Gar somersaulted over the barrier and began striking down the droids and was immediately joined by Raven who used her powers to crush them.

The two ran to each other and embraced. Raven began to bawl, burying her face in Gar's chest while he held her and kissed the crown of her head. They once again overcame the odds and survived.

_**-( - )-**_

Slade was holding his own against Batman and Phoenix when Raven and Gar burst into the room. His single eye widened as he realized that the plan had failed. He bolted for an exit, but was cut off by a wall of Raven's dark energy. She then seized Slade and began to thrash him around, slamming him violently into walls and the ground. Within moments Slade was a bloody mess. Raven only stopped after Gar reached her and held her. Batman cuffed Slade and approached the couple.

"I see you were successful Garfield." He looked at Raven, who had fallen to her knees. "Take her back to the Bat Cave and have her rest. We should be able to mop up the rest.

_**-( - )-**_

The Brain suddenly ordered his minions to retreat, escaping through an exit that was blocked by the debris from an explosion triggered after they made their getaway.

"Why do they always get away?" Moaned Negative Man.

"Because they are cowards Larry" Mento replied. "Garfield was successful. They failed and ran. Let's go help the others."

_**-( - )-**_

With the help of Phoenix and the Doom Patrol the rest of the Gotham villain contingent was easily subdued. It was going to get very crowded at Arkham. The Gotham PD arrived in time to take the prisoners away, and Commissioner Gordon congratulated the Bat Clan, the Titans and the Doom Patrol for a job well done.

The Doom Patrol immediately excused themselves to once again track the Brotherhood of evil while the Bat Clan and the Titans returned to the Bat Cave.

_**-( - )-**_

Victor was immensely relieved to see the Logan's return and after examining them both gave them a clean bill of health. He saw some unusual hormonal activity in Raven, but chalked it up to her having been under Blood's influence. Nothing that a good night of rest wouldn't take care of. As the others arrived he also checked them and all were in good health.

Batman congratulated his extended team and promised them a celebration in the morning. Alfred announced that there were sandwiches and other refreshments waiting for them in their rooms and that he would have a celebratory brunch waiting for them at 10:00 AM. Batman dismissed the team and wished them a good night.

Everyone was exhausted and retreated to their rooms where after a shower and the light supper Alfred had left them most immediately retired for the night. Cassie and Terra walked slowly to their rooms while passing by the rooms occupied by couples.

"It's another Saturday night and once again we don't have dates." Terra joked to Cassie.

"Notice that Flash was in Jinx's room?" Cassie asked.

"I guess we know who is getting hitched next." Terra joked. "I'm getting so desperate that Tim is starting to look appealing."

"You are desperate if you're considering cradle robbing." Cassie teased her.

"Shut up Cassandra. Its past your bedtime anyway." Terra joked back.

_**-( - )-**_

Starfire woke up first. Richard was snoring peacefully as she ran her hand down the length of his disrobed body and was enjoying it thoroughly. Dick has been hesitant to resume intimate relations with her since Lizzie was born, but she had convinced him last night that she was ready to resume.

As she admired his muscular body she was reminded of how humans can be both so strong and yet so frail at the same time. She knew that back home on Tamaran Richard was considered a feeble weakling. Maybe he couldn't survive in the vacuum of space or lift tons of weight with a single arm, but she knew that he had it where it counts, and he demonstrated that to her most convincingly last night. Most convincingly.

"Richard, it's time to get up."

"Mmmm" he groaned.

"Why don't you shower while I feed Elizabeth?"

There were more groans as he dragged himself to the bathroom.

_Humans are not resilient._ She reminded herself with a smile.

_**-( - )-**_

Raven and Gar were the last to arrive for the brunch feast. Alfred had outdone himself once again. There were several varieties of eggs to start with, including Raven's favorite: Eggs Benedict.

"Alfred, thanks for making eggs benedict, they're my favorite."

"The pleasure is mine Mrs. Logan. You can thank Master Garfield though; he let me know that they are your preferred style."

Raven and Gar filled their plates and joined in the celebration. Mindful of Raven's scolding from a few days earlier Gar did not go back for seconds, even though Raven did herself. The team had a splendid time laughing and sharing jokes. But after about 30 minutes Raven didn't look well.

"Rae, are you OK? You look a little green, which is a healthy color for me, but not for you."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to be sick." She said as she got up, preparing to bolt for the nearest bathroom.

Fortunately Alfred was right behind her with a dustbin, and she immediately threw up into it. Gar held her now long hair back.

"Rae, baby, what's wrong? You never throw up." Gar asked her as he gave her a glass of water to rinse her mouth out with. After rinsing and spitting out the water, she apologized to Alfred.

"Think nothing of it Mrs. Logan, no harm was done."

She turned to Gar. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before." She whispered to him. "But I'm running late."

"Late? Late for what?" he whispered back.

"What do you think? That I have an overdue book at the library?"

Gar's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"So that's why I could feel you through the Force!" he shouted as he placed his right hand over her navel. He became very quiet as he summoned the Force to probe Raven's body more closely.

"Three words." He whispered to her "Baby on board". He embraced her and gave her a very passionate kiss.

"Uh, what's going on?" Kid Flash asked foolishly.

Jinx elbowed him hard in the ribs. "She's pregnant, you dimwit!"

The table erupted in cheers.

"Way to go grass stain." Victor shouted.

"BB, you're going to be a father!" Terra congratulated her.

Starfire gently hugged Raven and kissed her on the cheek. "I am so happy for you my sister!" she said as tears streamed down her cheeks. Raven hugged her back.

"I'm both excited and scared!"

"Fear not, for I will be there with you every step of the way." Starfire promised her.

The now expanded celebration lasted all day and the Titans decided to postpone their return trip so they could recover from the celebration.

THE END


End file.
